スティーブンの奇妙な宇宙 Steven's Bizarre Universe
by unGratefulNobody
Summary: "A faint light began to glow around Steven; Amethyst could've sworn she saw some pink-and-white clothed...thing shimmering behind Josuke. Everyone around Steven could very clearly hear what had to be his broken ribs snapping back into place, they were all too relieved to be creeped out by it."NOTE: With some Gravity Falls thrown in too( I know this site will only let you list two)
1. Bow and Arrow

"You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth"

~Khalil Gibran

* * *

Suddenly, a new voice jumped out from the doorway of the temple as a small green gem walked out. They hadn't met this one yet, _the gems had others living with them?_

 _"Who's this guy supposed to be, What is up with your hair anyway, are you sick or something?"_ Peridot said with a smirk.

Suddenly Peridot flew backwards and went right through the screen door like she had been shoved. _"What the fuck did you say about my hair? And I'm sorry but who the fuck are you?"_ but only Steven was able to also see his stand behind him, arms folded. At this point though, he had no idea what in the world was happening, . As he watched it unfold, he felt time suddenly slow down, and Steven realized how mad he felt that the boy had pushed Peridot. She WAS rude, but Steven didn't think she deserved to be screamed at like that. Steven's frustration reached a peak, and he clenched his fists. Unbeknownst to him, everyone else in the room had started to notice a faint glow around him, getting brighter. Squinting, some of them could've sworn they saw a figure start to materialize behind him.

When the glow faded, everyone suddenly quieted.

Peridot was still dazed from being thrown across the room, and in this pause of silence Josuke shook his head, trying to clear the ringing out of his ears. He looked up and to his surprise, a large woman was standing behind Steven. _Did this boy have stand powers?!_

And the Crystal Gems were still frozen in place, because the shimmering standing behind Steven was looking an awful lot like

 _"ROSE!"_

Pearl flung herself forward and tried to grab her arm, but she fell right through the figure as it stared at her blankly, dissipating.

* * *

EARLIER THAT DAY

 _"...and your father, he passed through this town, Beach City, on his way to Mexico way back, when going to help Speedwagon. For some reason, I couldn't get much out of him before my phone reception cut out, but I had heard something about finding a woman named Pearl. I don't know, but by the sound of the old man's voice it sounded important?"_

 _"Pearl…?"_ Josuke questioned. He tried to inquire further, but Jotaro just shook his head, dismissing him with a wave.

 _"Yes, I'm not quite sure either...never mind this Pearl. We're here to track down the man with the bow. I've been informed through the Speedwagon foundation that an archaeologist working on the outskirts of beach city was supposedly hit by an arrow at his site, but the man fled before anyone could get a better look at him"_

 _"Did he survive or...?"_

Jotaro avoided the question and kept on walking. _"We're almost to the train stop. Even on the train way there, I want you to stay alert. I've heard strange stories about this area in the past, and who knows what the hell we're going to have to deal with"_

* * *

 _"But why would you want to take the train to the kindergarten when we can just warp there, I thought you were the warp-master?"_ Pearl asked with a smirk on her face.

 _"I just like trains, please Pearl! We can meet you there!"_

 _"Yeah P! Let us do the thing!"_

 _"Humor him, for one he's saved us from an intergalactic space jail, plus I'll go with, no biggie….the train has a free buffet!"_

Pearl just rolled her eyes, but turned to Steven. _'Amethyst is right, I should be less overprotective but I just can't help it sometimes…'_

 _"Alright Steven go ahead, Garnet and I will meet you two there. Amethyst, I want you to keep your guard up if you two arrive before us. We don't even know who or what's causing these strange signals yet, and I have a very bad feeling about this."_


	2. We meet at last

_"Do not be afraid; our fate cannot be taken from us; it is a gift."_

~Dante Alighieri, Inferno (The Divine Comedy #1)

* * *

When Amethyst and Steven hopped off the train and started walking that half mile-stretch of desert to the kindergarten, the first thing they should've expected to find is Pearl having some kind of mental breakdown per usual.

 _'Pearl makes a great leader sometimes, and damn sometimes it's like she knows everything but it's like I can't leave her alone for 5 minutes without her spazzing out again'_ Amethyst thought. _'Yeah, and_ _I'M_ _the immature one. Sure.'_

 _"Pearl, what's wrong?"_ Steven asked gently. He reached out to touch her shoulder but just as he almost did she spun around abruptly and they got a good look at her face.

She was white, whiter than usual, they thought, and she'd been...crying.

 _"Oh nothing, Steven, it's fine. Just my imagination, I thought I saw something."_ Pearl did her best to force a smile. She turned around to calm down and whispered to herself, _"No...it couldn't have been him...just my imagination again."_ Pearl trailed behind Steven and Amethyst as they joked amongst themselves and headed down into the canyons, her brows furrowed as she kept her eyes down while mumbling to herself.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the other edge of the kindergarten, Josuke and Jotaro were baffled. They had chased the bow man to this small canyon a couple miles away from the border of Beach City, but then he just vanished. They had been walking for hours now, circling the canyon pathways, but everything looked the same. There was no more signs of the bow man.

Josuke glanced around at the depressions in the canyon walls. _"What the hell are these holes in the walls Jotaro? They look like people...?"_

Jotaro rolled his eyes. _"You're being stupid, have you been reading too much horror manga again? I think you're just imagining things. They're_ _just_ _holes, who kno-_

They both froze. Around the corner of the one rock wall they faced, they heard what sounded like a child's yelp and then two women screaming. They ran towards it.

As they rounded a corner they saw what was causing the loud commotion. The bow man had snuck past them and struck a child right in the chest, There were two women beside him, one tall and lanky and the other short, shouting amongst themselves over who should've been watching him. The purple one glanced at them for a few seconds, but as they just stood there quietly, she dismissed them as a threat and returned her attention to the mysterious archer. In a whirlwind of twirls and leaps, the two women flung themselves at each other and before Josuke and Jotaro could react, they were blinded by a flash of light.

When the light gave way, it gave way to something..inhuman. She (if it was a she) stood practically twice the height of Josuke, had two pairs of arms and a giant bow & arrow that rivaled the archer's. All three of them, still as confused as ever, Josuke, Jotaro and this woman-, all screamed and charged at the archer.

To their surprise, they all ran straight into each other and fell to the ground. Everyone was on the ground groaning and grasping at their foreheads.

" _Ugh….why am I feeling such a sharp pain…? I couldn't have hit my head THAT hard….wait...FUCK where did he go?"_ Jotaro grumbled. The man had disappeared into thin air before any of them could lay a hit on him.

" _Shit."_


	3. Quartz is Unbreakable

_"A lot of child soldiers lose their minds"_

 _~Emmanuel Jal_

* * *

 _"Ugh...my head..."_ When Josuke came to, the first thing that flashed through his mind was that boy.

'… _.'_

'… _God, whoever this kid is, we failed him. We failed that archaeologist too, if only we had gotten hold of the archer back in Morioh. We failed...if we had caught him earlier...we could've prevented this...agh!'_

He keeled over to the floor and gripped his head in pain as a bad migraine hit him. Wait... _floor?_ That's when he realized the ground under him wasn't the ground of the canyon anymore. It was wooden flooring. _"Where the hell am I...Jotaro..what happened? I can't remember shit."_

 _"Calm down. You got hit pretty hard. You don't remember anything?"_

" _All I remember is diving for the archer and falling to the ground like he just disappeared. Where are we…?"_

" _Beach City."_ Jotaro answered.

* * *

Josuke looked up to see Jotaro bent over a couch across from him, along with those two women. They were bent over someone...a child... _that boy!_ Josuke sprinted over, but too much blood rushed to his head and he tripped. As he hit the floor he heard the boy making pained whimpers.

 _"He's still alive..."_ Pearl gasped with tears in her eyes.

 _"Hey P- where do you want me to put this bow...?"_ Amethyst asked as she just twirled the bow and arrow around like batons.

 _"DON'T TOUCH THAT!"_ Josuke and Jotaro both screamed. _"Wait….did you say...your name was Pearl?"_ Jotaro asked.

 _"Y-yes...why are you asking? And who exactly are you…?"_ she gulped and her eyes darted around nervously. But she knew exactly who he was. Well, not exactly, but she had a pretty good guess. It's too young to be him, but they HAD to be related. The resemblance was uncanny. _"Anywhere but his face, Pearl...just...don't...look... at his...face.'_

Josuke shoved himself between them _"I don't know what the hell is happening here, or why you two are making goo-goo eyes at each other, but we don't have much time before I won't be able to fix him"_ he muttered in his thick accent.

The boy mumbled something again and both girls gasped. _"Steven…"_ they could barely choke out words over the tears and worry.

Now usually Pearl could hold herself together well. But this was Steven, her Steven, this was Rose, and she… _.he_ was hurt. All bets were off.

She grasped Josuke's arm as tight as if she had talons, and made eye contact with him, face pleading. _"Please…, if you can do something please help him...oh god my baby…"_

* * *

Josuke's brows furrowed. He managed to rip his arm from her grasp and stared at the boy's chest uncertainly. Somehow the wound was gone...but he was obviously still in much pain so something deeper had to be wrong with him. _'I don't know anything about this kid'_ he thought to himself worriedly, _'what if it's something I can't fix? Screw it, what could go wrong if I at least try?'_

All three of them gathered around and leaned in close as Josuke placed one hand on Steven's forehead.

* * *

 _ **One.**_

 _Josuke placed his other hand on Steven's chest and concentrated with all his might._

* * *

 _ **Two.**_

His migraine was growing worse with each passing second, and he was feeling like he was burning up, but he couldn't stop now. Everyone's expecting him to try and save this kid.

* * *

 _ **Three.**_

* * *

A faint light began to glow around Steven; Amethyst could've sworn she saw some pink and white thing...like a figure or something...shimmering behind Josuke. Everyone around Steven could clearly hear what had to be his broken ribs snapping back into place, but they were all too relieved to be creeped out by the sound. That is, everyone except Jotaro. He had a stony expression on his face like he had just tasted something very nasty.

The figure behind Josuke dissipated, and he fell backwards with a gasp, shutting his eyes. Jotaro reached for him, but Josuke pushed his hand away. _"I'm fine, I just need to rest a quick minute."_

They all breathed a sigh of relief as they heard Steven roll over on his side and cough, because after he stopped, some color returned to his face and he was once again breathing regularly.

Jotaro turned to Pearl with a strange look on his face. _"Well, now that the boy is alright, Pearl I think I remember you saying your name was. How much do you know about a man named Joseph Joestar?"_


	4. Waiting in Vain

" _The biggest coward is a man who awakens a woman's love with no intention of loving her."_

 _~Bob Marley_

"He...he...he was the only person I've ever had that strong of a connection with. He was the only person who..who pretty much awakened me into realizing what I wished for with Rose wasn't even...a reality." she muttered, glancing at Steven who was propped up enough to listen to their conversation from the couch.

"Rose…?"

"My mom" Steven piped up from the living room, seeming to liven up as her name was brought up.

Josuke and Jotaro both kept staring at her, expectantly, waiting for her to continue.

"We...we had something. He was the first, last and only human I've ever loved…" she gasped, starting to overcome with tremors, voice cracking. Jotaro's eyes went wide in shock at this emotion, emotion from a woman who although he didn't know very well, seemed so hard and determined and take-charge and calm only a few hours ago.

Josuke merely rolled his eyes and thought 'Oh great, how many chicks did he REALLY fuck over..god..here we go.'

"How did you two begin to know each other, What happened? What's his connection to this place?" Jotaro stepped closer to her, making her back up a bit. "Why was he in beach city? What happened that made him leave? Why has he never spoke of you? What HAPPENED 30 years ago?" Now he would've been almost nose to nose with Pearl..

If Amethyst hadn't suddenly jumped up and shoved herself between the two of them.

"HEY! BACK OFF ASSHOLE WHAT'S YOUR PROBLEM? WHERE DO YOU GET OFF ON HARASSING LITTLE SCRAWNY LADIES AND MAKING THEM CRY?"

"I-"

"Amethyst" she whispered.

"PEARL LET ME HANDLE THIS"

"Amethyst!" she squeaked out loud this time "It's fine.

It's fine."

"Jotaro...I'm afraid there's not much else to tell. He came to beach city on some kind of "business". I have no idea what that business was. We fell in love,...or at least I always thought he began to feel the same way. Only then did i end up finding out he had a wife and child back home. One night we were supposed to meet up, to talk things over and just clear the air, discuss what this even was and if we really wanted to continue it, but he never arrived. I tried calling him, once, twice, three times, and i never saw him after that. Ever again. That was 27 years ago."

"I find it slightly unbelievable that he never gave anything away in all that time that might've made you suspect something was wrong, whether it be his secret life, or this "business" of his" Jotaro sneered, not out of contempt for Pearl, just for his grandfather.

"I waited for him, I did. He never came back...not even once…" Pearl whimpered in reply.

"Are you kidding me?!" Josuke shouted. "Jotaro, WHY ARE YOU GIVING HIM THE BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT? From what you've been telling me the entire trip over here and since you first met me, my FATHER was a complete and total dick with no respect for anything whatsoever, How is it SO unbelievable that he's screwed someone else over AGAIN?"

Josuke started getting more worked up, and the more and more excited he was getting the harder it was to understand him through his thick Japanese accent.

All the while Steven was just sitting there, watching them with his eyes and mouth wide open. "Pearl...does that mean there was a chance you would've ended up like my mom?"

That shut her up.

Pearl quieted down, eye twitching long enough for Josuke to go bang his head against a wall out of exasperation, while both Jotaro and Amethyst sat there wondering why the hell they were getting more involved in this drama.

Everyone's eyes shifted to Pearl, as because they were all glancing down, every one of them saw those first few tears hit the floor.

Pearl looked up at Jotaro, hands beginning to pull at her hair hard.

What the fuck.

Why here.

Why now.

She can't take being this calm anymore. She stared him straight in the eye and began to scream.

"OHHHH! WHY DO YOU LOOK JUST LIKE HIM!?"

Her gem flashed bright, blinding, and she collapsed clutching her chest. When the light finally faded, she was standing there menacingly, tears streaming down her face, spear clutched so hard her knuckles were beginning to turn pink, and she eyed Jotaro with the most unsettling look he's ever seen.

Just then, they all turned to hear a shuffling around coming from the temple door.

A voice popped up. "My familiarity with your earth customs leaves much to be desired, but would someone mind filling me in on what exactly is going on here?" Peridot asked.


	5. I Failed My Mission

" _Chaos was the law of nature, order was the dream of man."_

 _~Henry Adams_

"Eugh what the hell is that thing, and why does it look like an onigiri triangle?" Josuke spat out, still quite annoyed.

"Hehehe...sushi-dot" Amethyst sniggered.

"Excuse me!?" Peridot shot back at them. All she was trying to do was ask a question and she's still treated like everyone's trash can around here. She'd been trying nonstop the past 2 months doing everything in her power to win over the gems' trust, but their quickest reaction is still sometimes to just insult her. This is infuriating..

"Oh yeah, well why does YOUR hair look like a...a "WAFFLE IRON?" Wow...that insult sounded way more clever in her head than it did out loud.

Everyone's eyes darted back and forth between Peridot and Josuke, all going "ooooh…" even Garnet, who found some humor in just watching all the drama start to unfold.

"WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU JUST SAY ABOUT MY HAIR?!" Josuke's fists flew up like he was about to throw down, but instead of actually even touching her, a towering figure that looked like something out of Steven's comic books appeared behind him and swung at Peridot as Josuke made the punching motion. She flew against the wall with such a large smack that her gem should've been shattered, but it didn't. It wasn't. But that didn't matter to Steven. For the first time in his life…

he felt truly clenched his fists,

And screamed, "NO!"

Everything went whiter than white, and for a moment everyone was blinded.

When the light faded, everyone was dead quiet and frozen in place.

Peridot, because she was still dazed from being thrown across the room and then & Josuke, because they were both awestruck at the marvelous stand that appeared behind this small child, towering even over Jotaro by a few feet.

And all 3 of the Crystal Gems, because the figure engulfed in pink flames standing behind Steven, dressed in what appeared to be a sort of futuristic samurai helmet was….

"ROSE!"

Pearl flung herself forward with such might but at the moment she reached "Rose" and tried to touch her, rose didn't even look at her and her hand passed right through her arm like rose was made of mist.

Everyone was stunned and confused for alot of different reasons, and pearl was at a loss to do anything

but

scream.


	6. You Have Some Explaining To Do

" _It's amazing the clarity that comes with psychotic jealousy"_

 _~Rupert Everett_

Everything happened so fast, but right now it felt like it was the complete opposite. Time was moving so slow as Jotaro attempted to explain to the gems what exactly had happened.

"...and some humans, as a manifestation of their psychic abilities, develop stands, with specific powers and only other stand users are able to see them….I do suppose it's a different case for you three seeing as how you're not human..?"

Garnet nodded for him to go on.

 _At this point Garnet, Steven, Jotaro and Josuke were the only ones able to think coherently in the room. Everyone else was still in a daze. Peridot was lying on the floor holding her head, and pearl and amethyst were just frozen where they were, not saying a word, probably still trying to wrap their heads around whether or not they had just both hallucinated Rose._

Jotaro took a step back from garnet and sighed, seemingly exasperated at the thought of dealing with the Old Man's shenanigans again. "And apparently now it's come to light that my gramps came here while he was still with my grandma Suzie and messed around, which wouldn't mean that much of anything to begin with, but now that we followed someone here on dangerous business anyway, and found out that the old man may have discovered something dangerous in town, we're exploring any leads and clues necessary to make sure nothing's gonna come back and bite us in the ass later on."

"That's reasonable." Garnet said in her mellow accent. She picked up Pearl and Amethyst, who were literally still frozen in shocked positions, and layed them both on the couch. "They'll come out of it eventually...and I DO understand we have much more that needs to be discussed between us all. As long as you stay respectful, because this is still, a house and a home, you are both welcome to sleep here for the night. I'm sure Steven would be happy to welcome you. Isn't that right Steven?"

"Steven?" Oh. she turned around and he was already fast asleep.

Garnet picked him up and tucked him in bed with a little kiss on the forehead, turning back once more to the living room before ducking into her room.

"Make yourselves comfortable, I will be up tomorrow morning to speak with you too more. Goodnight."

 **Okay guys! I have a plan of following three different event trails when they're all splitting up for different reasons the next few chapters. But anybody who's interested and reading the story PM me saying which one you guys would like to follow first! ~**

 **1\. Garnet, Jotaro and Amethyst go off searching for a corrupt gem from the rebellion with the intent to capture, and discover something related to the pillar men and their transformative masks.**

 **2\. Steven shows Josuke around town, and in the process Josuke gets a new crush,**

 **and they find something surprising dating back to the time frame when Joseph**

 **was staying in Beach City on "business"**

 **3\. Sad, and Lovesick reflections in the mind of Pearl as she stays behind, home**

 **alone to try and get her shit together.**


	7. Let me Show You Around

_" The most loving parents and relatives commit murder with smiles on their force us to destroy the person we really are: a subtle kind of murder."_

 _~Jim Morrison_

* * *

"So, what did you say your name was again..?"

"Josuke"

"And you're all the way from Japan? That's soooo cool!" Steven shouted. He was so excited it's like he was a little ball of pure energy.

"You know Steven, I'm sorry if i hurt your friend too bad. I didn't mean to. I've been having a bad day and small things were really starting to set me off."

"Oh Peridot? It's okay, she's fine, she just needs to rest... do you like donuts?"

"Yeah why?"

"Let's go have some breakfast first of all! I wanna show you the best place in town!"

They turned around and began walking towards the Big Donut.

As they started walked. Josuke glanced to the boardwalk in the distance. He could see why Steven enjoys living in a coastal small town. The people here seem so friendly for starters. And if he squints he could sort of see the two owners of those boardwalk restaurants smile and shake hands before opening up their shops for the day. That's such great sportmanship especially in a small town where the few actual businesses must compete alot. And the scenery? Just...wow. The beach and all the nature around here are lovely, and everything smells so fresh, as if pollution never existed here. It's almost...magical. 'Maybe I'll move somewhere like this town when I graduate..' Josuke thought to himself.

 _15 MINUTES LATER_

They opened the door and sat down. As soon as they sat down Sadie noticed Steven and got excited. "Steven! Don't you guys bother ordering, we got some new kinds of donuts in today,I'll bring some out for you to try!"

"She seems nice" Josuke whispered. "Anyway Steven, there's something I wanted to ask you about. You've lived here your whole life, yea? Jotaro and I are still abit confused on what it is you and your sisters do here."

"Well, it's a long story…"

"That's okay little dude, we have all the time in the world till those 3 get back from a 'mission' remember?"

So Steven let out a big sigh and began. He tried to sum up the most important bits in as short and informative way as he could, because even he knows that's being 14, it's unlikely he understands the full truth behind everything as much as the Gems.

He started by explaining how the gems were aliens, they came to earth to colonize it, how Garnet ended up joining them, and that Amethyst was actually 'born' here on Earth. He explained how his mom was under Pink Diamond, even though he didn't know much, and that she fought to protect earth. He then explained that thousands of years later,when his mom Rose met his dad, and decided to have him, she had to give up her physical form to give birth to him, as since her body technically wasn't real, she had only her gem to give. He pulled up his shirt to point to his gem.

Josuke gasped. "So that came from your mother?" Steven nodded. He told Josuke how he's the first and only known gem-human hybrid, and because of that, and because of WHO his Mom is, he's more important now than ever in the fight against homeworld.

By the time Steven got to the part of explaining what corrupt gems were, and that they all used to be just like the gems, Josuke SLAMMED his fists on the table out of excitement, startling Sadie who was just about to bring them their donuts, making her drop them.

"I...I can see you two are probably in the middle of important stuff. I'll come back later." She backed into the breakroom not really scared, but pretty darn confused.

"ARE YOU TELLING ME THAT ONCE THEY BECOME THOSE CORRUPTED THINGS THEY STILL HAVE THE GEM?"

"Uhh...yes?" Steven stammered, kinda freaked out by how excited Josuke was getting. Why all of a sudden his change of mood?

"THAT EXPLAINS WHAT I SAW EARLIER! ME AND JOTARO WERE MAKING OUR WAY INTO TOWN AND WE ASSUMED WE SAW A STAND AS WE WERE DRIVING INTO TOWN, BUT WE DIDN'T HAVE TIME TO GET OUT AND FIND THE USER! IT HAD A WEIRDLY NOTICEABLE GEM ON ITS CHEST BUT I HAD THOUGHT THAT WAS JUST PART OF ITS LOOK"

"Wait what?"


	8. Mask of the Aztecs: Part 1

_"Life is but a mask worn on the face of death. And is death, then, but another mask?_

 _'How many can say,' asks the Aztec poet, 'that there is, or is not a truth beyond?' "_

 _~Joseph Campbell_

* * *

Garnet, Amethyst and Jotaro had been at the beta kindergarten for over 15 minutes trying to find this gem monster that was supposedly still skulking around here.

"Didn't we catch them all the last time we were here…?" Pearl asked. "The ones Jasper had trapped I mean."

Garnet nodded.

Jotaro pointed out that if they had indeed captured what was left trapped here, the LAST time they came, that means this "monster" sighted could possibly have been a stand user that followed them into beach city.

"You make an excellent point", went Garnet. "Are you sure that only another user's stand can defeat a Stand? I can see many possibilities, which lead me to believe that there are some chances we would be able to interact with the Stands ourselves, as we are not of this earth, so we're not simple humans to begin with."

Before they could comprehend what was happening, This monster, this big hulking thing, with long tusks looking almost like a walrus with legs, but more menacing charged right at them.

"Get out of the way!" Jotaro summoned his stand.

Garnet ignored him and summoned her gauntlets, which still had Bismuth's add-ons from a week ago. No, no time to dwell on that now. She screamed and charged towards the charging monster.

 _ **BAM**_

The monster's weight was too much for her to handle and before she knew it she went flying about half a mile from the impact.

"I GOT THIS!" Amethyst screamed.

"AMETHYST NO"

"ARE you crazy!?" Garnet and Jotaro yelled after her. She ignored them and took out both whips and lassoed them around its tusks, and before they could grab hold of her the monster sprinted onward into the desert, and before they knew it, both of them were out of sight.

* * *

Garnet and Jotaro got up.

"Was i crazy or did i see a Stone Mask attached to it's forehead?" Garnet mumbled to herself as she pushed herself off the ground and dusted off.

"Did you say Stone mask."

"..Yes why? Did you see it also?"

"Listen to me Garnet. I need you to recall as much as possible. Please tell me the stone mask did not have fangs carved into its mouth. You need to remember, THIS IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT"  
"..."

"..."

"..."

"Yes...it ….Jotaro, what do you know about what just happened that you aren't telling us? I may Have future vision but since I can see many of the possibilities it would probably work in your favour to be honest with me."

"So it did have fangs, you are ABSOLUTELY sure?"

"That's correct"

"Good grief…" Jotaro pulls out his phone and starts texting someone.

"Who are you contacting?"

"..." "Someone who I need to have a word with about this. I think he's death with these masks before. In the meantime, while we wait for an answer, should we try to track down your companion?"

"Yes" Garnet said, dusting off the last of the desert dirt. "We probably should."

* * *

So they looked, and continued looking for the monster of whatever kind, being sure to keep their eyes peeled.

They looked for an hour,

then two,

then going on three.

The sun was beginning to set, but it wasn't as hot as it usually is in this sandy area, so they decided to keep looking for another hour at least, then return home.

It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. You couldn't even hear Jotaro breathing. Then, just as they were about turn and leave, Jotaro's phone started ringing.

He picked it up. "Good grief old man, I'm afraid I'm going to need you involved in a pretty bad situation..."


	9. Mask of the Aztecs: Part 2

" _Never allow someone to be your priority while allowing yourself to be their option."_

 _Mark Twain_

 **meanwhile, back at the temple**

Pearl glanced outside when she heard a bit of a commotion.

Steven and Josuke were as carefree as can be, laughing and splashing around in their swim trunks.

They'd decided to come back and hang out in the beach water, after Steven had finished dragging him along to every place possible in town to show off his cool foreign friend. And from what she heard, the girl at The Big Donut had taken abit of a fancy to him.

"Oh...dear..." Pearl sighed audibly and let herself fall flat on the couch.

"Who could blame her...he looks so much like his father..."

Pearl stopped dusting the coffee table and put her hands behind her head, and stared up at the ceiling when some tears started to fall.

 _Who can say... if we're really meant to be..._

 _I stopped believing in destiny..._

 _a long time ago_

* * *

 _Who can say..._

 _If my heart should or shouldn't be broken?_

 _I fucking hate these human emotions..._

 _What did I do..._

 _to deserve this_

* * *

 _"I..."_ Pearl sobbed as she tried to carry the I.

 _I thought this was how it goes..._

 _I was always so jealous of Rose_

 _And in more ways than one_

 _I'm just done._

* * *

 _Isn't this how it goes?_

 _Why can't I just love like Rose?_

 _What did I do wrong?_

* * *

 _"What-"_ Pearl choked as more tears spilled- _"What did I need to do?"_

 _You said "I'll do right by you Pearl..."_

 _What did I do?_

 _What did i do?_

* * *

She sobbed as she stopped singing and buried her face in the pillows.

 _"I'm just a Pearl..."_

 _"...tell me what I had to do..."_

* * *

The living room was filled with light and a sharp zzzing as Garnet and Jotaro warped back home. Amethyst wasn't with them, and both their faces looked grim.

"Wh-Pearl sniffled-what happened? Where's Amethyst?

"Pearl" Garnet said monotone. "Amethyst was dragged off by a gem monster in our attempts to capture it, she overestimated her strength and was dragged off too fast for us to catch up. Jotaro thinks that-"

"I KNOW that something on that Monster is something I, and my entire family have faced before." he interrupted. "The Gem monster we were tracking had a certain stone mask attached to it."

He took out some faded polaroids and began to flip through them, showing the Gems as he spoke.

"See this?" He held up an EXTREMELY faded polaroid, looked decades old, of Speedwagon and some archaeologists next to 3 statues of men with many stone masks carved next to them on an enormous pillar.

"THESE are what some have called Pillar Men, They rose to power in Central America thousands on thousands of years ago, and were revered as god-like among an Aztec tribe they lived near."

He pulled out a photograph from an old, long passed archaeologist of the Speedwagon foundation. It appeared to be a cave drawing depicting some townsfolk next to tall, sculpted men and women wearing strange tribal hats. "For quite some time, this tribe of 'pillar men' regularly consumed humans for food, but were feared so much that eventually the people made it a practice to offer up human sacrifices to appease them. Unfortunately, they began to evolve in such a way that the more powerful and evolved their race became, the fewer were able to breed. Eventually, the only ones left, four of them could not walk outside in the daylight without getting burned, like some vampiric legends and such. Anyway, they create the masks as something they think will help them become immortal, and new powers, to walk freely in the sun, Yadda yadda yadda."

Jotaro paused to take a breath. Boy was this a mouthful.

"The only 4 survivors are actually dead now, from confrontations and terrible battles my family has faced in "Well…" Pearl spoke questioningly…"If they're dead….what does that have to do with now?"

"Yeah that's the thing actually...the men are besides the point. When they strived to create those masks, SO MANY were made. The only reason one could have found its way onto that monster is if, when it was...humanoid, and conscious, it found the mask and tried to use it on itself for one reason or another. That means some masks are still out there that we haven't found, and if more come across it, that is going to be a BIG problem. Because...when used by regular humans...it turns them into a vampire. And those vampires, in turn, can create other vampires or zombies."

For once now, even Garnet was stunned so much her mouth was literally hanging open.

"I don't mean to alarm you ladies, and I know our first priority should be finding your friend Amethyst. But if we don't find out where that monster got that mask. This could be the beginning of something far more horrible than corrupted gems running loose."


	10. When I See You Again

_"History repeats itself. First as tragedy, second as farce."_

 _~Karl Marx_

 **THE TEMPLE 11:30 P.M.**

Tensions were high, and nobody could sleep, not even Steven.

Gems don't even need sleep, but everyone was so stressed and wired that they couldn't sleep even if they wanted to. Also, with what Pearl had running and flashing back through her mind at the moment, she's not sure she'd be comfortable having people possibly see her dreams.

Steven and Josuke were awake, sitting on Stevens bed. Under the volume of a Crying Breakfast Friends Marathon, they were swapping stories and feelings about their absent & mostly-absent parents.

"He was never really around until a year ago when I met him in Morioh"

 _"So like...is Jotaro your uncle or something?"_

"Hah...no,actually, I'm his uncle. The old man is my father and his grandfather."

 _"What th-how does that even...haha your dad's an old perv!_ "

"Steven!" Garnet scolded before going back to pacing.

 _"I don't have any other siblings, gems don't really work that way, and you know that other stuff I told you.."_

"But...don't you ever get lonely man?"

 _"II do wish I could've known my mom, but I guess it's not so bad because i never really knew her OR seen her in person, you know? Besides, I'm actually only 2 years younger than you! I just don't look it!"_

"Oh"

 _"Besides, family is who you make it, not just blood" Steven said with a laugh._

That drew a small smile share between Garnet and Pearl before everyone turned quieter again.

Steven and Josuke went back to whispering and sharing jokes between each other, Pearl was about ready to lock herself in her room not wanting to see Joseph the next morning, and Garnet was back and forth pacing, Ruby and Sapphire probably arguing internally but Garnet herself never making a sound.

Jotaro was making night pancakes.

* * *

 **15 MILES FROM THE KINDERGARTEN 6 A.M.**

The masked corrupt Gem pawed at the Amethyst Gem, slowly getting bored.

The sun was rising, as soon as it hit the Gem and the mask on its forehead, it's skin started to sizzle.

It was okay before because the other day it was cloudy when those Gems attacked. There wasn't much sun.

Its skin sizzled,

its form flickered,

it let out a loud his as it carefully grabbed the Amethyst gem in its mouth as it sprinted into a nearby cave.

And it waited.

* * *

 **EMPIRE CITY AIRPORT 8:45 A.M.**

Joseph walked down the runway, being helped to one of the ground airport entrances. "Speedwagon I don't know what the hell I'd do without you..." Joseph mumbled, glancing up at the sky. The Speedwagon foundation got him here quickly and more comfortably than if he had waited abit to take public air transport, so they made sure to get special permission to land a jet at Empire City Airport.

They could've landed on Beach City's Beach but they didn't want to draw too much attention to him or freak people out.

"Ah...it's so great to be back in Beach City soon..." He smiled and sighed, closing his eyes and humming a tune. "Hand me my cane please, son, let's go to the taxi stand and wait for our private car." The pilot handed him his cane and guided him to the stand where their shiny black sedan was already waiting.

* * *

 **OUTSKIRTS OF BEACH CITY, DELMARVA 9:45 A.M.**

The Speedwagon foundation's black sedan crossed the borders into Beach city 20 minutes ago.

With each passing block Joseph was growing more and more anxious. His knuckles grew white from gripping his cane so hard and all he could think of was how he practically abandoned Pearl.

* * *

 **THE TEMPLE 10:00 A.M.**

Pearl was making breakfast for everyone, and most of them were glad, because nobody was in the mood for much small talk at the moment. They were worrying to much. So to avoid the possibly awkward silences everyone was just stress eating so much; stuffing their faces.

They heard a car pull up, then a knock, and immediately hearing the knock Pearl dropped her skillet and hot grease splashed everywhere.

Jotaro got up with a groan and opened the door.

Pearl dropped the skillet and fainted.

An old, bearded man wearing a trucker hat and spectacles, holding an elegantly carved cane was standing beside two men in suits.

 _"Old man, it's good to see you."_


	11. Chalcedony

"Beware of missing chances; otherwise it may be altogether too late some day."

~Franz Liszt

* * *

 _"Old man, it's good to see you."_

Jotaro's face lit up more brightly than from anything else Josuke's ever seen. They shared a brisk hug before Jotaro led him in to the living room to the couch, and said goodbye to the two men from the Speedwagon Foundation, and got Joseph a cup of coffee.

Joseph looked up and saw a startled Pearl groan and pick herself up off the kitchen floor.

 _"Pearl...?"_

 **Pearl's heart stopped. Or it would've felt like it if she actually had one. She didn't know how to react.**

 _He's finally here... After all this time... I should be angry shouldn't i...but...I hate to say it but I'm not...I actually feel..happy.._

A slow smile crept onto her face.

 _"Pearl...?"_

 _"Yo P, are you alright..?"_ Amethyst asked in confusion.

Pearl took a step forward and then just broke into a sprint, tackling Joseph into the wall in the most emotional hug she's ever given anyone.

 _ **"JOJO, YOU CAME BAAAAAAACK! I MISSED YOU SO MUCH!"**_ Pearl was laughing as tears streamed down her face.

Steven and Josuke just stared open-mouthed at the two of them wondering what the hell is going on.

 _"Woah there, it's great to see you too you adorable little bird!"_ Joseph bellowed as he scooped Pearl up in his arms. Garnet adjusted her glasses and squinted at him. 'That's not how I expected her to react...' She whispered to herself while scowling at Joseph.

After everyone's commotion calmed down quite abit, Garnet called everyone to the living room couches for an emergency meeting. Steven and Josuke still were overflowing with questions about what exactly is going on with Joseph and Pearl, but for the moment, their confusion was gonna have to be placed as 2nd priority.

 _"Mr Joestar"_ , Garnet said stoically, _"I assume you know at least some of why you've had to return."_

 _"I'm afraid so Garnet, you said you have located more of those masks..?"_

 _"24 hours ago Amethyst was dragged off by a Gem monster who appeared to have one of these vampire masks you've seen, somehow attached to its forehead."_

Garnet turned to the rest of the group. She could see many possibilities, none of them too favorable. So she asked the rest _"can anybody here think of any possible reasons a Gem of all beings would need or want it...?"_

Amethyst laughed, _"Maybe it just wanted to be a hot vampire"_

 _"Maybe it-" **"Maybe it-"**_ Steven and Josuke both started speaking at the same time. Steven gestured for Josuke to go ahead first.

 _"Maybe it had a reason it wanted to secure living forever?"_

Pearl scoffed and hopped off her seat which was Joseph's lap (leaving him looking pretty disappointed)

 _"That's ridiculous!"_ She waved her hands around making a ridiculous gesture. _"Gems are ALREADY immortal, we already live forever._

 _Unless..."_

 _"Unless what?"_ Steven squinted trying to follow all the adults' train of thought. _"Unless it was a half gem like me..? No wait...there's probably not another one."_

 _"Yup!"_ , Garnet perked up for Stevens sake. She ruffled his hair, _"you are entirely unique Steven."_

All attention was drawn back to Pearl. _"Unless what, Pearly?"_ Joseph asked. Pearl finished her thought, _"unless, what if it had started to become corrupted, and was trying to do everything and anything it could think of to stop it.?"_

Her eyes turned wide. Pearl thought back, way back to the middle of the rebellion. After the strawberry fields battle... a comrade of theirs and Crystal Gem slowly started slipping into madness. Her name was Chalcedony. After she first started showing signs of madness, despite reassurance from other rebels that they'd find a cure for her, that they wouldn't leave her behind, she still ran off.

Vanished. Into thin air. And nobody's seen her since.

Garnet already had zeroed in on what Pearl was thinking, because the more Pearl was thinking about what she was concluding, the more possible that specific future became in Sapphire's future vision. That gem, on the chest of the gem monster, looked an awful lot like their missing team member.

 _"Garnet..."_ Pearl finally spoke _"do you really think... it's her? Chalcedony...? After all this time..."_

 _"Who's Chalcedony?"_ the other three asked in confusion.

 _"She...was a Crystal Gem at one point, Steven. She was...her mind...started to go because of the stress and torment of war."_ Pearl sniffled, for once not caring that her face was getting all drippy _"Your mother..."_ Pearl glanced up at the painting of rose with a sad smile, _"your mother did everything she could to try and help her, but Chalcedony was scared, scared she was going to endanger us all from the madness inside her. She didn't want to hurt us, so one day...she...she disappeared. Maybe she tried to stop herself from getting worse and..."_

 _"And the mask turned out to be her last possible hope."_ Joseph said grimly. Flashbacks of previous danger the masks have gotten him in began to flash before his eyes.

 **Note: I hope you guys are slightly intrigued at meeting a former Crystal Gem and hearing the potential for a tragic backstory. You should also know that Blue Chalcedony is known to be calming, and speaks of spirit and trust. It's also known as 'the Speaker's Stone' or 'the stone of one who must measure his words'. That means** **its reflection helps us into preparing for action, but also helping to hold back words we might regret.**

 **"Considered a nurturing stone, Chalcedony absorbs negative energy and dissipates it before it can be passed on." This is TECHNICALLY meant to be metaphorical in real life, but this specific information will come into play quite literally in later chapters. I hope you all look forward to it!**


	12. Onward We Go

" _Sometimes you need a little crisis to get your adrenaline flowing and help you realize your potential."_

 _~Jeannette Walls_

It's been a week. Joseph, Jotaro and Josuke all decided to extend their stay in Beach City on account of it being in their best interest that, if some more masks really ARE floating around out there, to put this to rest as soon as possible. Some men from the Speedwagon foundation had brought them some essentials today as they were completely unprepared to have ended up staying this long. Joseph almost had a mini heart attack, as he hadn't seen specifically a Speedwagon Foundation helicopter touch down since that lone day in the desert, and started having flashbacks of Iggy and Kakyoin. He actually fell right over hyperventilating as soon as he saw the helicopter touch down, his eyes glazed over. No one but Jotaro understood what had triggered him like that, but nevertheless they all brought him inside to calm him down. At the moment he was resting and calming down in Steven's bed.

 **An anonymous source I spoke to via instant message said that there seems to be a blue bear with horns running around the outskirts of this mountain town**

Steven and Garnet, who were bent over the laptop as everyone else was chatting over breakfast, furrowed their brows and continued scrolling.

 _ **No one really knows where it's gone to hide at night. But my source claims it was carrying some kind of Gemstone in its paws, this could be one of the most recent sightings of the mythical Chupacabra! Or the livestock of the snake people have gotten agitated from their natural habitats by the Polymorphic Sentient Rock soldiers….. AHA!**_

 _ **Remember Citizens, this path of the weird we walk is a lonely one, KEEP BEACH CITY WEIRD!**_

Steven groaned and turned to Garnet. "What do you think Garnet, could this be the corrupted gem that took Amethyst?"

"Possibly. I see many possibilities. We should go to this town to investigate. Although, since it is on the outskirts, we probably will end up camping for the time being during the night there…and I don't think a warp pad will bring us close enough to the town..." Steven gasped and waved his hands around.

"Ooh! I know! I know! Remember my dad's rich now we can ask him to rent an rv and a big tent and stuff for us!"

Garnet smiled. "Good thinking Steven." She ruffled his hair as they went to join the others and finish their breakfast.

-2 HOURS LATER-

They had all packed supplies, gotten an RV Greg had rented for them, and a good tent and some camping equipment. They were on the road now towards this mountain town. Garnet was driving, Pearl and Joseph were fast asleep on the couch, (for some reason he was the only thing it took to make her want to indulge in human rituals again)

And Steven and Josuke were playing Uno or Yahtzee or some type of small game. Jotaro was fixing himself up a cup of coffee and sat in the passenger seat next to Garnet, he handed her a cup. "I know you gems don't need to eat or drink but I figured anyone right now could use the perk of a hot drink."

Garnet smiled and took the cup "Thank y-this is green."

Jotaro chuckled. "You probably thought I was making coffee. No, this is matcha, It's a Japanese thing. It's like regular green tea but it's powdered and it has way more caffeine that the typical tea. Trust me, it's good." She nodded and turned back to the road ahead, while Jotaro continued on. "So...this monster might have been a friend of yours...?" Garnet nodded and gripped the wheel tighter. Sapphire was cool as a cucumber but Ruby was starting to get emotional just thinking about it. For a second her form flickered. "Okay, touchy subject. I understand that. But...I'm sure with this future vision you have you do realize we need to be prepared for the worst. Garnet nodded "Yes, I do Jotaro but- he interrupted her. "And you realize that while from what everyone's told me, that corruption CAN be reversible, that we don't have a 100% guarantee on account of not knowing the effects of the masks on a GEM.?" Garnet's form flickered and she started mumbling to herself. Jotaro continued, "I just worry you guys might stress yourselves a little too much is all. I'm just concerned. I see how you deflate and walk off and Pearl gets all spazzy when her name is mentioned in our discussions. will you be okay..?"

Suddenly Garnet spoke louder to herself,

" **I..WE COULD HAVE DONE SOMETHING TO HELP HER"**

" _Ruby it's not our fault, there's nothing we could've done...her madness was too overwhelming.."_

" **YOU JUST DON'T WANT TO BOTHER TRYING"**

" _It wouldn't have worked…"_

" **YOU MAY HAVE SEEN IT BUT HOW DO YOU KNOW FOR SURE SAPPHIRE! HOW DO YOU KNOW!"**

Suddenly Garnet was encased in a flash of light and Ruby was thrown to the back of the RV waking Pearl and Joseph up with a yelp and a tangle of arms and leg, while Sapphire's dress billowed around her as she gently floated down on the driver's seat. At this point since Garnet was the one driving, the RV was swerving back and forth and about to hit a telephone pole. Everyone screamed. Joseph, luckily was quick thinking enough to grab the wheel and steer them back onto the was mad. Not only was he thrown against something that tangled up his perfect hair, he almost had a heart attack!

"ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL US ALL?!" He screamed at the small red gem.


	13. Camp Pining Joestars

"Memories are the key not to the past, but to the future."

~Corrie Ten Boom

* * *

All night they've been driving, and just as day broke and the sunrise brightened up the horizon, they pulled the RV off-road into a small clearing on the outskirts of town. And as much as everyone was anxious to find this monster and save Amethyst, being cooped up in that RV for so many hours had been a little too much for everyone, and they all needed a break.

While Pearl, Joseph, and Jotaro stepped behind one side of the RV to discuss ideas privately, Steve, Josuke, Ruby and Sapphire were bringing out blankets and making a fire pit with rocks to cook up some snacks.

Ruby and Sapphire weren't speaking to each other. As was expected, while Sapphire considered herself above the matter, Ruby was still steaming. Like, quite literally she was still steaming. "Ruby?" Steven called out as him and Josuke finished laying out blankets, "Could you do us a favor and start up the campfire for me?" Ruby grumbled and just hopped inside the circle of rocks...arms crossed and sat down. "I guess that works..." Steven said to himself.

All of a sudden Josuke clapped his hands together. "ALLright! Who wants breakfast, I'm starving!" Jotaro came back out with eggs and bacon from the RV's mini-fridge and a cast-iron skillet. Before walking back in the RV to plan with the others, he handed them to Josuke. Josuke cracked a few eggs into the pan and set the skillet right on top of Ruby's steaming head, but they barely even sizzled. That's when Steven and Josuke looked at each other with mischievous grins on their face. While Josuke held the skillet right above Ruby's head, Steven started to talk to Ruby about Sapphire. "Ruby, I'm sure Sapphire isn't trying to seem like she doesn't care ON PURPOSE. Do you really think just because sometimes she tries to make the most logical choice she's really that unfeeling?" Steven asked, kinda concerned.

And boy, did that set her off.

 **"I HATE IT WHEN SHE GETS LIKE THIS! AGH!"** Ruby yelled and suddenly flames shot up from her whole body making the pan crackle. Before the eggs could burn Josuke flipped them and listened to Ruby continue. "But Rub- **"SHE'S ACTING LIKE WE SHOULDN'T HAVE EVEN BOTHERED ABOUT TRYING TO HELP CHALCEDONY! EVEN IF SHE SAW WE WOULD'VE FAILED WE STILL SHOULD'VE TRIED!"**

'Huh...I guess Ruby and Sapphire were closer to this crystal gem than I figured...' Steven thought sadly. 'She must've been a really awesome friend...' Suddenly the sound of Josuke laughing to himself and slapping his forehead in disbelief drew Steven's attention out of his brooding. "SHIT! I didn't think that'd make the eggs cook so fast! Thanks Ruby!" he laughed. Ruby just grumbled at him and stole the strip of bacon he was about to eat.

* * *

 **IN THE RV:**

"But Sapphire...shouldn't we at least offer some kind of warning to the people around this town just in case our hunt gets dangerous? They are just innocent humans after all" Pearl glanced at Joseph whos mind was clearly somewhere else it seemed.

"Pearl, No. you as well as me know, after growing up around humans and seeing their faults as well as their feats over the past few decades, should realize that people in backwoods towns like this tend to overreact with things, become religious zealots over the most ridiculous of issues, and blame lots of things on the devil or us "Freaks of nature" even though we are the ones trying to help. Therefore, if we tell them anything, or try to warn these people? If they don't listen, even some of them, it'll only make the situation worse. People might come after us, or worse these people might try to go hunting after the "devil monster" itself and humans might perish because they refuse to accept the actual danger they face. That's why we cannot."

Jotaro who was silent the whole time, observing their back-and-forth finally spoke. "Pearl, Sapphire is right. When I first arrived in Morioh to find Josuke and explain to him who his father was, I didn't tell his mother what we had started becoming involved in. Not only would it unnecessarily worry her, because we would've still attempted to hunt down enemy stand users anyway, she could've reacted the wrong way out of shock at these things and gotten herself actually hurt."

Pearl sighed. "Do YOU think he has a point, Joseph?"

Joseph didn't answer.

"Joseph?"

All three looked over to Joseph whose expression had started to glaze over. He was just sitting their, hypnotized by something unseen, staring off into space.

 **"HEY! Old Man!"** Jotaro snapped his fingers a few times in his face. Still no answer. Sapphire floated up from the bed and fluttered nervously near his face. She probably saw a possibility of what was wrong with him, but said nothing because it was either bad or unlikely it would happen. She squinted as she reached one hand out and touched a finger to his neck. "He still has a pulse..." she mumbled. "Hmm..."

His eyes just then slowly closed. Pearl Gasped. "SAPPHIRE, JOTARO DO SOMETHING! WHAT IF HE'S FALLING UNCONSCIOUS!"

For once Jotaro actually flinched, he was freaked the hell out when just then, Joseph's eyes SNAPPED back open only to reveal glowing red irises.

"GET BACK!" Jotaro screamed. "STAR PLATINUM!"

Sapphire's eyes widened as she thought back to a previous vision. 'His eyes were blue-green before...this mind isn't Joseph anymore...Something is possessing him...something...'

"STAR PLATINUM~THE WORLD!"

* * *

Suddenly, everything was silent. The only thing that could be heard was Jotaro catching his breath. He only had about half a minute to gather information from the situation. He ignored turning back to face a frozen Pearl and Sapphire, and instead turned to Joseph. His face was contorted into an evil grin, almost like he was watching him even as time itself had froze over. The eyes glowed red; they clearly weren't Joseph's eyes.

Jotaro gasped, out of the corner of his eye he saw Joseph's fingers and legs start to twitch, 'Impossible...' he whispered, 'what other beings have the power to move through time like me...?'The used-to-be-Joseph being possessing his body JERKED his head up to stare Jotaro in the eye. Its sneer got even more evil and cold.

It spoke like a thousand pins and needles were being driven into Jotaro's skin, **"It's a pleasure to meet you Kujo Jotaro..."**

 **"I have been watching your family for quite some time now."**


	14. Avenging Lord Dio

"I saw the Count lying within the box upon the earth, some of which the rude falling from the cart had scattered over him. He was deathly pale, just like a waxen image, and the red eyes glared with the horrible vindictive look which I knew so well."  
~Bram Stoker

* * *

"WHO ARE YOU?! WHY ARE YOU HERE?"

 ** _"You don't recognize me? No...I suppose not." the voice in Joseph's body chucked and its eyes glowed slightly. I suppose we have not even met formally. As we were defending Lord Dio's castle from you poltroons, I was attacked by your Noriyaki and dissipated through a window's sunlight. Before I dissipated, I managed to transfer my consciousness...or the last vestiges of it into a passerby businessman on the street below. Ever since that fateful day in Egypt I have been jumping from person to person, mind to mind, following your family across the world, waiting, just waiting for the perfect moment. I am the girl who you buy donuts from, I am the fisherman on the beach, I am the man who repaired the helicopter that landed at the beach, I am your most trusted colleagues, I am your mother, your cousins, your uncle, the lady you bumped into at the store yesterday, and nobody knows it. I am everywhere, and I am always watching you."_**

By now Jotaro felt in no immediate danger, and did not summon his Stand any longer. He started feeling a twinge of fear, fear of the past, but stuffed it down and hid it behind that safer, stoic expression everyone knew so well.

 _ **"Remember this. remember it when you face danger ahead, and remember it for when I come again. Although today is not the right moment to get revenge, I do so very much intend to avenge my fallen brothers and Lord Dio. And Jotaro, the path you are traveling on right now is dangerous. If you continue to help this people, you will die, your family will die, you will all die a most gruesome, painful death versus the honorable death I would graciously give to you. Goodbye Jotaro, we WILL meet again..."**_ Joseph's eyes turned completely white before fading back into his normal bluish-green, followed by him promptly falling headfirst onto the RV floor. Time came unfrozen. Jotaro squinted...'How did he do that? That couldn't have been less than a few minutes...' he thought. He checked his watch to be sure and found out that it had, infact, somehow only been 2 minutes that had passed.

"Ughh..." Jotaro turned around to find both Pearl and Sapphire on the floor rubbing their heads. Sapphire had never looked more confused, because this was one of those rare moments where she was completely in the dark, and her Future Vision was telling her nothing.

"Jotaro, what just happened...?" Sapphire asked. "Pearl, can you go drag Joseph onto the bed and elevate his head while I speak to Jotaro?"

Pearl rushed over and started heaving and huffing as she managed to get Joseph onto the bed. Sapphire leaned over to Jotaro and whispered, "My future vision may be keeping me in the dark on this, but my gut feeling just tells me what happened was important and probably dangerous, yes?"

Jotaro nodded. His face was pretty grim.

"Then perhaps we should discuss this outside with the rest of the group."

* * *

After everyone had been gathered outside and sat around the campfire, Ruby sitting directly across from Sapphire because she was still mad at her, Joseph resting his head in Pearl's lap because he was developing a bit of a bump from the fall, and Steven and Josuke still stuffing their faces with more breakfast food, they were all set to go.

Jotaro explained to the Gems and Steven, and reminded Joseph about the events that led up to their confrontation in Egypt with Dio, and relating it back to the masks, how it can form vampirism in humans and such. He pointed out how one of Dio's servants somehow, in some way managed to keep transferring his mind to different consciousnesses over the years, and had since been following their family for revenge, and most likely other unknown, nefarious reasons. That's when Josuke spoke up.

"Wait, hold up-who's Dio?"

 _ugh._ "Maybe you would know if you'd read the fucking manga."

Everyone started looking at each other worriedly, and began discussing reasons and theories WHAT other reasons this thing could've been following them, and why it insists this "path" they're all following is going to lead to all their immediate deaths.

They continued throwing various theories out there as they packed their stuff in the RV, locked it up, and split up for the day, Pearl, Joseph Josuke and Sapphire going straight into the town to ask various citizens questions about seeing anything, and Jotaro, Steven, and Ruby circling around the West and South ends of the town to look for clues.


	15. LOST

_"I thought you were gone forever, I thought you'd walked away from everything, because I failed, because_  
 _I destroyed the only thing that ever mattered to me. I waited for you to come, but you didn't."_

 _~Alexandra Adornetto, Halo_

* * *

 _Crunch. Crunch. Crunch._

They trudged through the storybook forest preserves surrounding the mountain town. So far, nothing looked out of the ordinary or of any severe importance to Jotaro, Ruby, and Steven. But a palpable tension hung in the air from many things.

 _Crunch. Crunch._

They were all silent. Even Steven normally the most bubbly one of all the gems. stood behind Jotaro and Ruby with his brows furrowed. He was deep in thought about something. All that could be heard was the crunch of the leaves under their feet. As they got further and further into the forest, signs of the town and civilization slowly started to disappear, until they were surrounded by nothing but nature. Steven breathed a sigh of relief and looked both ways before laughing awkwardly and turning to speak to the rest _"Phew! hahah...uhm for a little while there since we left the campsite I coulda sworn something was watching us...but now that we still haven't seen anyone I doubt something's there. Kinda feel better now!"_ he half-smiled, more like he was trying to convince himself more than ease the others' worries. Jotaro raised an eyebrow but didn't question him. Ruby, completely oblivious to the others was starting to steam and crackle and cause the leaves to burn under her. soon she was completely surrounded in a circle of black soot. Steven looked at her face and asked, _"Ruby...are you...okay?"_ Jotaro added, _"you know we've all been looking for a while so perhaps it's time to take a break...no?"_ he took off his hat and rubbed his forehead; it was drenched with sweat from the heat waves starting to roll of Ruby.

Ruby took a deep breath and pushed her hand to her temple. She looked like she was trying extremely hard not to explode with anger.  
 _ **"I. Just. Don't. Why did Sapphire. Just go. By herself. Why. is. she. trying. to. avoid. me."**_

Steven's face softened from nervousness to just soft concern, and he sat down to try and cheer her up with a talk. Jotaro winced at the thought of just standing there, he would've felt extremely awkward intruding on their personal moment, and he didn't even know them that well to begin with.

 _"I'm going to be right back. I gotta go find somewhere to use the bathroom."_ Steven nodded and waved him off before turning to Ruby. _"Bye Jotaro! We'll be here!"_

As Jotaro trudged through the forest, trying to find a small place that wasn't completely covered in ivy and such, he came upon a small clearing. He looked behind him to make sure nobody or no danger was around him, and took in the look of the clearing. But before he even got to unzip his pants he was hit by an intense flashback.

* * *

 _ **It was a beautiful, sunny day and on the grounds of the hospital Jotaro was taking a smoke break outside in the garden before returning to the room Kakyoin was resting in. It's been hard for him to overcome feeling so much about Kakyoin that he hasn't felt before. But if Jotaro's learned anything from running frantically around the world getting into fights to save his mother, it's that anybody could die at any moment, and there's no time left in his life for regrets.**_

 _ **He rushed down the hallway and came to a halt in front of one of the intensive care unit's doors.**_

 _ **KAKYOIN NORIYAKI **_  
_**ROOM 213**_

 _ **Jotaro took a deep breath and opened the door to Kakyoin's room. His classmate was sitting in a wheelchair, sunglasses over his eyes and his back turned to him, probably gazing out the window. "Noriyaki I have to tell you something." Kakyoin wheeled himself around and took off his glasses. "Well Jotaro," *cough cough* he brought his handkerchief up to his mouth, and when he pulled it back there were flecks of blood. "It must be important if you got back upstairs within 5 minutes. I saw you sprint inside from the garden from my window."**_

 _ **Jotaro felt flustered. He was worried for his friend but at the same time didn't want to add heartbreak to his mix of emotions, what if he said something that completely ruined their friendship for however longer he was around? "Noriyaki...these past few months...especially with me finally graduating and alll...remember that trip we were talking about taking after our graduation but we canceled it because of this? If you're up to it...I'd still want to go with you, I really do. It wouldn't be a burden to watch out for you a little extra at all."**_

 _ **Kakyoin raised an eyebrow at him but nodded and smiled. He motioned for Jotaro to continue.**_

 _ **Jotaro never would get used to hKakyoin's eyes now, he thought. the scars, for some reason that ran across his face got darker and darker as his health started failing, instead of fading like they normally do. His eyes though, were clouded with at first doctors thought was cataracts, but even the Speedwagon Foundation's best doctors were mystified. "Of course Jotaro...and I'd love to go. I really appreciate this...after all...they still can't figure anything out and the doctors are as much lost as me to what this (he gestures to his eyes, which are swirling with clouds of grey and white filmy substance* is. I don't know how much longer I'll be able to...see you.**_

 _ **Jotaro turned away as his face got hot. "Jotaro, look at me? I just...I haven't been feeling well lately. I feel off. I just wanted to tell you...before anything else happens, I...I lov-**_

 _ **Kakyoin froze. His eyes started welling up with greyish blue cloudiness and blood began to leak out of his tearducts. Jotaro ran to the door and screamed outside the hall for a Nurse and then wen't back in frantically pushing the assistance button on his wheelchair. But by the time the three nurses in charge of Kakyoin got there, they were too late. They found Jotaro sitting in a pool of blood and grey film. holding Kakyoin's head in his lap, as he wasn't even able to lift his body back up out of grief.**_

 _ **It took him weeks to wash the scent of Kakyoin off his hands.**_

* * *

Jotaro groaned and rubbed his head. _"Where am I...the woods? What happened...that was a fucking...oh my god Kakyoin..."_

 _"Jotaro, what are you doing down there!"_ He looked up and gasped as a hand reached out and lifted him off the forest floor. _"What are you doing down there? We're going to miss meeting up with our hiking group!"_ It was Kakyoin, plain as day, fresh from his nightmares. He looked exactly as Jotaro had remembered only...his eyes were fine. and he wasn't wearing a hospital gown. He was wearing one of his old student shirts and...LEVI'S Jeans. _"Kakyoin...?"_ he asked tentatively. _"Kakyoin, I thought you were dead!"_ Kakyoin laughed and brushed Jotaro's hand off his shoulder. _"Jotaro, what are you talking about silly? I got released from Morioh General Hospital two whole months ago, and that's when we left for our America Trip..."_ his smile faltered. _"...remember..?"_

Jotaro pursed his lips in thought. _"Uh...I guess so?"_ Something didn't feel right...that dream. It felt too real. Jotaro looked back up at Kakyoin, _"Noriyaki, I...__ he trailed off and froze because as Noriyaki looked at him, hand outstretched towards his, eyes glistening brilliant, haunting red-that. tht was it. That's wrong. He shook his head and rubbed his eyes one more time as it all came back to him. _"Noriyaki..."_ he said as he pulled back his arm, _"Noriyaki's eyes are purple. this isn't right. You're wrong. Who are you."_

This Kakyoin body-double pulled back his outstretched hand and hissed evilly at him... _"You're going to regret being so observant you shit..."_ And that was the last thing Jotaro heard before passing out.

 _"Jotaro...hey, Jotaro are you okay...?"_ Steven shook Jotaro's arm frantically trying to wake him up. " _Oh I know! I saw a thing on TV once right! Ruby, do you have any smelling salts?"_ Ruby raised an eyebrow _"What the hell are smelling salts?"_ Steven groaned, _"guess that's a no then."_

Ruby nudged him with a funny look in here eye. "Chin up bud, I know what'll wake him up!" Ruby leaned down until she was only centimeters away from his left ear and screamed. _**"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"**_ He immediately woke up and did a barrel roll sideways and jumped up in the air, "What the FUCK WAS THAT"

Ruby smirked. _"Oh good you decided to get up from your nap."_ Steven rolled his eyes at her remark and asked him, _"Jotaro, what happened, we came to find you after we realized you were gone for an hour. You said you were going to the bathroom and after an hour when we found you did something happen? We found you lying on the ground with a mess of broken branches around you."_ Ruby nodded, _"you look like something spooked you."_

Jotaro lifted himself up and began to walk back with them towards the direction of the RV. _"I don't know...I think i need to rest. I can't remember much but i think I remember an animal scary me and..hitting my head or something."_ they both nodded _"Alright."_

Eventually they got back to the RV, Ruby and Steven stayed by the campfire to cook up some lunch while they let Jotaro rest. as soon as he heard the RV door click shut, Jotaro ran to the bathroom and slammed open the door and let out a big gasp. _"Hhhhhhhhhhh...huhhh...this is fucking hard.."_ he spat out. _"So much energy."_ he shook his head and slapped himself. _"GAME FACE. COME ON. Just a little longer passing for this and I'll get my chance..."_

He wiped his face down with a wet wipe and looked at himself in the mirror: at his _brilliant, haunting red eyes.  
_

* * *

 **NOTE:** ** _Can Dr. Steven eventually heal Ruby's emotions? And where in the world is Jotaro Kujo? Find out next week! :)_**


	16. A Backwoods Town Just West of Weird

_"The world is full of obvious things which nobody by any chance ever observes."_  
 _~Arthur Conan Doyle, The Hound of the Baskervilles_

* * *

He sat down on the bed of the RV's bedroom. His fingers were drumming impatiently on the bedpost as he thought about what to do next. _"To be honest I didn't think I'd even get this far..."_ he muttered. He glanced out the window and to his surprise, the Pearl, the Sapphire and Joseph were not back yet from town, but Ruby was outside muttering to herself and eating, having decided to let "Jotaro" rest after all. He got up to go use the bathroom, before noticing that Steven Universe was laying on the couch, fast asleep. He debated something heavily in his mind for a few seconds before hesitantly reaching his hands out, gripping the small child's head, and with his eyes flashing red, he was sucked inside the mindscape.

 _"Ugh...where am I...?"_ the thing formerly known as Jotaro scowled as he glanced around. Pink clouds were everywhere, with no walls, no trees, no people, no nothing. _"What the fuck is in this kid's head..?"_ He took no more than 5 steps in a direction before he felt a tap on his shoulder. _"Jotaro?"_ Guard up, he spun around instantly, his eyes glowing fierce red. It was the Steven child.

Steven gasped.  
 _"Who...who are you?! You're not Jotaro?"_

The creature ignored his question and asked him one in return. _"Child...how are you able to consciously walk your mindscape?"_

 _"Oh, I can go into mine and other peoples dreams. It's kind of a thing I can do. It's one of my powers."_ He kept his eyes on him as he tentatively reached towards the gem on his stomach, _"but you never answered ME. Who are you. And what happened to Jotaro?"_ The creature thought to himself that maybe he had gotten in way over his head with this mission, that maybe his boss had underestimated these creatures...these gems. That maybe it wasn't going to be easy as his boss had imagined. After all, they had both already severely underestimated this hybrid's...abilities.

 _"Alright child. I'll tell you who I am. but only because I'm going to make sure that right here and now, you'll never be able to tell it to anyone else."_

 _"Wait what?"_ Steven attempted to summon his shield but his arms were somehow locked at his sides. _"Wha...what are you doing..? Put me down!"_

The creature chuckled. _"I have seen and created horrors beyond your comprehension. I have aided in causing the madness of thousands of humans. I have set in motion things that have caused the downfalls of civilizations, and me and my comrades have been worshiped by many an ancient people."_ The creature raised one arm and his eyes glowed brighter as Steven, frozen still, was raised up in the air. _"You do not know what I am capable of boy; do not try me. I have slaughtered many without reason, and without guilt. Your family shall be no different. You humans have noclue how close your world was to utter annihilation only a single summer ago. You could warn the others, but it will do nothing. Our chaos will once again wash over this earth with Bill at the forefront. DO NOT get in my way. **I have butchered millions on countless moons.** I am Paci-Fire."_

And with that, Steven, arms still frozen at his sides, burst out laughing. _" **Paci-Fire?!** What the heck kind of name is that? Oh, man. You're just silly you're not scary at all!"_

 _"SILENCE CHILD! YOU WILL REGRET MOCKING ME! I AM ALL-POWERFUL!"_

 _"Yeah, all-powerful to stop a baby's drool!"_

And at that moment, Steven knew he had fucked up. The last thing he remembered was being punched in the stomach, and when he woke up, the thing he thought was Jotaro was nowhere to be seen, and the window beside him was broken open, the small curtains rustling with that soft kind of summer breeze that comes before a storm, the kind that feels warm and humid. Steven felt a stomach pain, and to his horror, he glanced down and there was a small crack in the center of his gem.

* * *

 **MANY MILES AWAY, ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE COUNTRY**

 _"Kids...! KIDS! Who want to go to Greasy's for lunch?"_ Stan smiled as he heard feet stampeding down the floor...and hooves. He had to admit that pig had grown on him. His parents had never allowed him to have a pet as a child. _"Honestly Stanley I could've made us lunch here. We don't have to go ou-_ Ford stopped in his tracks as Stan mockingly shook his finger in Ford's face "aww, is poor Fordsy embarrassed to go see the new waitress after what happened last time?" Ford's face turned red and Stan continued, " _ahh, I'm just yankin' yer chain. Plus with the kids ready to move up permanently and register at school and all here in town, I just want to celebrate a little."_

Meanwhile, somewhere in the forest outside the mystery shack, a neat-looking Japanese man in a white suit and white hat stepped out of a portal that had appeared in a small clearing. He dusted off his clothes and walked up to the triangular-shaped statue and placed a hand on it. The statue did not move, but above it, Bill Cipher appeared in the air and looked at him, then in disgust at the statue of himself below, covered in weeds. _"Ugh...disgusting. I really hope we're able to carry this through, I've been itching to get a new physical form since last summer and I swear, if any of those kids get in my way again..."_ but he spoke to it. Paci-Fire spoke. _"The first part is done, Boss, and we'll be able to summon a physical form for you soon, in the meantime, I am close on locating a strong enough human vessel for you to bide time in. It's all going smoothly, boss."_

 _"Everything is going according to plan."_


	17. Where did we go, What did we do?

_"Pain is your friend; it is your ally. Pain reminds you to finish the job and get the hell home. Pain tells you when you have been seriously wounded. And you know what the best thing about pain is? It tells you you're not dead yet!"_  
 _~G.I. Jane_

* * *

 _Steven's gem was cracked, Joseph was beginning to feel ill, and Jotaro was nowhere to be found. Neither was Amethyst. After a few hours of asking around the town, Pearl, Sapphire, Joseph and Josuke didn't find out anything of importance either. They were still in shock over what Steven and Ruby relayed to them once they got back to camp._

Things were beginning to get more than a bit out of hand. What remained of their group gathered around the campfire they started to cook their dinner, feelings of dread in the pits of all their stomachs. Pearl sat between Steven and Joseph. making sure each of them were equally propped up with their rolled-up sleeping bags, and every few minutes putting a fresh cool cloth on Joseph's forehead. He was beginning to get a fever. So far nothing else had happened to Steven, but since his gem _was_ cracked, everyone was silent and on edge because they were all scared of when effects could _really_ set in.

Josuke looked on sadly at Joseph. _'Maybe this is a time I need to work on forgiving him...after all...we really don't know what's going to happen next...'_ Josuke scooted closer to his father, rested a hand on his shoulder and sighed. Not a sound was to be heard except for gentle breathing, the cracking of the fire, and Ruby and Sapphire quietly whispering to each other.

 _ **"Sapphy...I'm sorry...** **"  
**_ _"Ruby...it's not your fault. None of us could've anticipated Jotaro or..whatever he was would do that. We would've been as blindsided as you."  
_ _ **"What are we gonna do now..?"  
**_ Sapphire wracked her brain, trying to see something...anything...but the only outcomes she did see ended horribly for either her or Ruby. She couldn't say that. Not yet. _"I don't know Ruby..."_ she lied. _"I can't see anything."_

Ruby gripped Sapphire's shoulders and pulled her into a tight hug; Sapphire burying her face in her shoulder, a single tear drifting down her cheek. They began to glow, and once again, Garnet was back. Steven smiled weakly as he tried to lift his head up and look at Garnet. _"G..Garnet..."_ he waved at Garnet before passing out.

 _ **"STEVEN!"**_ they all screamed. Pearl dove down and scooped him up, his gem glowing weakly. But he was out cold. None of them had any more time for shock on Steven's part, because it was right then that a blur of purple, black, and grey shot through the middle of their camp, flipping over a plate of hot dogs and making cinders fly everywhere. Pearl saw the cinders fly and immediately put Steven between her and Joseph, trying to cover them both. Garnet simply reached out calmly and grasped the whirlwind of purple and held it up to her face-level.

 _"Amethyst."_

 _'LET ME GO! LET ME GO YOU MONSTER! I'LL KILL EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU I SWEAR TO GOD I'LL...G..garnet? Oh thank god!"_ Garnet set Amethyst down and everyone began to speak at once.

 _"Pearl what happened to Steven?" "I don't know his gem got crack-" "What happened to your friend?" "he has a fever I think it might be an effect of a" "I DO have a name you know..." "Hey you're that purple girl they lost in the kindergartens..." "What's a kindergarten..?" "Hey G-Squad how did you guys find me anywa-_

 _ **"QUIET!"**_ **Everyone froze and looked at Garnet.**

 _"Sorry for shouting. Amethyst, If you'll start from the beginning please, say what you know. Unfortunate things have happened and if your information is of any help we'll all probably need to get a move on soon."_

 _"Yeah uh..sure thing Garnet."_

 _"Whenever you're ready Amethyst."_ The entire group looked up at her hopefully, but Amethyst was still confused to their whirlwind of emotions at her return, as she was completely absent for the crazy events preceding her return.

 _"Okay...so. I remember trying to lasso that thing in the kindergarten... and then nothing. I must've gotten poofed at some point while it was dragging me wherever...? And like...I took my time reforming...not as long as Pearl but longer than usual...5 days maybe? I don't know, I'm not a good judge of time while I'm in the gem dimension, you know how it is. Anyway so I reformed, and I almost got poofed again but I managed to poof and bubble that thing. It was pretty weird though...it had a mask that looked like it wasn't even a part of it's head...but I mean I guess it was...? Because it disappeared with her body when I poofed her."_ At this everyone gasped. Pearl began to tear up as she thought about Chalcedony. So did Garnet. Amethyst shrugged and pulled the shiny blue gem out of her pocket, which slightly sizzled as some gentle rays of the sunset came across it. _"Yeah one of you guys might wanna bubble her...for some reason I couldn't bubble anything when I tried...? I dunno"_ she shrugged as she handed the gem to Garnet. Garnet shed a single tear from Sapphire's eye as she bubbled the gem and tapped the top, sending her safely back home. For now.

 _"SO uh...is anybody gonna actually tell em the rest of what happened while I was out or...?"_

Garnet motioned for Amethyst to sit down between Pearl and Joseph as she began to tell Amethyst a condensed version of all that she'd missed. She told Amethyst about how they all packed and planned to go on the trip after she disappeared, and how they were planning to track her and bring down the corrupted gem. Amethyst was still confused over why they got so teary over this specific gem, and asked if it used to be a Crystal Gem. Pearl opened her mouth about to interject, but instead of telling her a lot, simply closed her mouth and nodded yes. Garnet told of how they tracked her and the monster to the mountains around this town, and how when they split up into two different groups, what happened to Joseph. She told Amethyst what happened to Steven, and also how none of them were sure what had caused Jotaro to act like that too, and injure Steven so greatly, but whatever it was, that she was sure it was something otherworldly.

Amethyst looked like she was concentrating super hard on something, and Josuke was about to speak up and ask her what she was thinking about, when suddenly she turned to him and asked, _"So uh...that Jotaro guy...that was the guy that was with you right? The guy in the white outfit with that hat and stuff?" "Yeah, why?"_ he asked. Where was she going with this...? Amethyst backed up a little so she was able to face Pearl, Garnet and Josuke all at once. _"I think I actually saw him in the woods after I fought the gem monster...I...his eyes were glowing red and I was still disoriented and scared shitless, so it must've not registered to me that that guy was the same guy from our group. I saw him, he opened some kind of portal-hole-thing...he was mumbling something about "Gravity Falls" and his "master" and "they'll all get what's coming to them"... or some crap like that before he just jumped into the portal."_

 _"Mmmm..."_ Garnet mumbled, clearly mulling over what Amethyst just told them. _"Gravity Falls...I know where this town is located but I'm not aware of any warp pads close enough to get into the town quickly."_

Suddenly a light-bulb went off in Josuke's head. He excitedly scooted over to his father and whispered an idea into his ear. Joseph thought it over and nodded. _"Pearl? My dear can you please grab me my phone? " "Yes, of course"_ she said with a smile. Pearl quickly dashed in the R.V. and ran back out phone in hand; she handed it to Joseph with a kiss. Joseph's phone blinked on, and he started to scroll through his contacts until he got to a number for a part of the Speedwagon Foundation that arranged his transportation to Beach City.

 _"I can get us to Gravity falls, and I can get us there fast."_ Things were about to get more complicated than any of them were prepared to handle. Joseph dialed the number and began working out arrangements for a helicopter to pick them up.


	18. Welcome to Gravity Falls

** AUTHOR NOTE:** **Okay, guys, actually had more downtime than I expected and a better mood than I thought, so cranked out two more chapters before I wait a little and do a four-chapter story bomb. Hope you enjoy!**

 _"Some days I am the complete third person- the secret agent. Nobody knows I'm there, yet I know everything."_

 _~Anna Paszkiewicz_

* * *

 **Paci-fire was calm. Yesterday he had such a great rage inside him, burning, threatening to boil over- _that CHILD had DARED to confront him? _In any case it didn't matter, as he was now in Gravity Falls again. They were close this time. Weirdmageddon was only the beginning. **

**Suddenly a giant gust of wind slammed into him and he was thrown against a telephone pole. He sighed and pushed himself up, shrugging it off and continuing to walk against the wind, with a great deal of effort. Paci-fire sighed. _These human bodies were so fragile. No matter. They were only a stepping stone-_**

 **He was shaken out of his thoughts as he just realized he could FEEL the wind rustling through his hair. Where was his hat?**

 ** _"Must have lost it in the forest,"_ he muttered, and for a second his eyes glowed brightly with annoyance as he glanced around. He had a feeling he was being watched, but for the time being, being stuck in this form was muting some of his extra-sensory abilities.**

 ** _'Oh well. It's nothing to worry about'_ , fake-Jotaro thought.**

 **After all, what kind of trouble could a simple lost hat create?**

* * *

There the gang was, flying across the country in a private plane towards Gravity Falls, Oregon. When Joseph had called for the plane to arrive, he had arranged for one of the best doctors the Speedwagon Foundation had to offer to accompany them.

 _Steven's breathing was finally stable, however he was still unconcious. There's only so much even the best doctor can do when he's not familiar with Gem physiology. Especially since Steven is one-of-a-kind. Even the Gems couldn't quite figure out how to best help him right now.  
_

* * *

 _"Wh-where am I...?"_ _Steven pushed himself up with a groan and looked around. The walls of...wherever were bright pink and sparkling; some parts of the walls were pulsing, almost as if they danced. He looked down at his gem and it had a giant crack in it. "What...?" He touched it, but even more strangely, it didn't even hurt at all._

" _Steven?"_

 _He turned around towards the unfamiliar voice. "Who-who's there?! Show yourself!"_

 _"Steeeveeeen..." the voice was coming from all directions now. he spun around in a panic, trying to figure it out. Suddenly, he saw a tall figure approaching in the distance. He saw it notice him, and break out into a sprint, But as soon as he thought about running, it lept into the air and out of sight. Steven froze when he felt someone tap his shoulder.  
_

 _"Steven..that's you, isn't it?"_

 _He turned around. "Mom...?"_

 _But Rose's eyes weren't happy. They were shining with tears. "You shouldn't be here."_

* * *

" _M...MmmMM."_ Steven mumbled.

Amethyst jumped up on one of the passenger seats and shouted, _"HEY EVERYBODY, SHUT THE FUCK UP, I THINK STEVEN'S TALKING IN HIS SLEEP!"_ They all leaned forward in anticipation, even Josuke, who looked more frantic than usual. It always panicked him and made him feel guilty when there was someone he _couldn't _ use Crazy Diamond to help.

" _M..MMmmMMmm."_

 _"What's he saying..?"_ Amethyst asked. " _It sounds like he's just mumbling..."_ Pearl leaned closer.

 _"MmmMMm..."_

Pearl stood up and her brow furrowed. _"M-something.? I'm not sure.."_ she looked down at him worriedly.

 _"M...Mom..."_ the gems, Josuke, and Joseph all stared at Steven, that single word rendering them into a complete shock.

* * *

 _"Steven..." Rose said, her eyes brimming with tears. "You shouldn't be here. Let me help you."_

 _Steven was still frozen. His mind was racing, but at the same time he didn't cry, didn't scream, didn't throw himself against her. As soon as he saw her he did feel an extreme amount of love. But not ecstasy over finally being able to meet her. After all, It's different when this is the first time you've ever actually met your parent. _

_So he spoke.  
_

 _"Mom...what am I doing here. What's happening to me?"_

 _"We're inside my Gem, Steven. It's both physical and meta-physical. GO ahead, look up towards the ceiling."\_

 _He glanced up. "Whoa...is the ceiling, made out of our shield?" Rose smiled at his childlike awe. "Yes Steven. Steven, let me fix your gem."_

 _"How can you fix my gem if it was...your gem..and you're...not physical anymore?" he was extremely lost, so Rose did her best to try and explain. I'm in my Gem, your gem, anyway when something else in in here, I can interact with it Physically still, just as I'd be able to outside when I had my old body. To be completely honest I don't even know how it works exactly, since you're new to me to, but it's worth a try, yes?"_

 _"Mom, we need to try. I need to help my friends. And the Gems. I think they're all in danger from someone."_

 _Rose's eyes brimmed with tears again, but the difference was this time, they were happy ones. "I'm so proud of you, my Steven..." She leaned down and kissed his forehead. just a few of her tears dripping down onto his gem. His gem began to sparkle._

* * *

 _"GUYS GUYS GUYS GUYS GUYS-HIS GEM IS SPARKLING OH MY GOD"_ Amethyst started flipping out shaking Garnet with excitement, but Garnet stayed firmly in place. Pearl and Josuke were on the verge of tears, and Joseph just smiled, as Steven right now reminded him of when Jotaro was a child. _'Hmmph..tough kid.'_ he thought. And right then, before their very eyes, Steven's gem began to crackle, steam rolling off it as new Rose Quartz material grew to fill the big crack that was beginning to split it in two. His eyes began to flutter. "STEVEN!" before Steven could get his bearings he was tackled into a group hug. _"Ugh..guys..guys you're smothering me!"_ They all let go. _"Sorry.."_ Pearl smiled sheepishly. _"You were unconscious for the entire day and ride up here; we didn't know what to think!"_

 _ **"Attention, this is your Captain speaking. In about five minutes we will be entering Gravity Falls and making our landing at the former Northwest Family private helipad. Everyone if you'd please get back in your seats and buckle up for landing!"**_

The plane landed without a hitch, and they all stepped off and slowly made their way down the stairs. Most of them were in shock, like _'Oh my god, we're actually here. we're probably going to have to fight some crazy power hungry demon and most of us are probably gonna get hurt.' _

Because as soon as they all actually set foot in Gravity Falls, this wasn't just a weekend vacation anymore. It was something much, much more serious.

* * *

 ** _"Jotaro. Jo-taaaro. Humph. What a ridiculous sounding name",_ ****Paci-Fire muttered to himself. As he waked down the street stealing glances at the many humans he passed, his stomach started to grumble. _"Oh right. these human bodies actually_ _need food to survive. Ugh."_ he looked around until he saw the storefront of a small grocery store. _"Time to get some free lunch",_ he said with a red glint to his eyes.**

 **Five minutes later he was in the deli aisle stuffing a loaf of bread and a stick of salami down his pants.**

 **Right as 'Jotaro' was about to leave the store a girl caught his eye. She was staring at him. Or more accurately, She was staring at his pants with a little smile. He looked down to see that the little bread loaf and salami made it look like he had a noticeably big dick, and before he knew it that girl was making her way towards him.**

 _ **Shit. Shit shit shit. I don't know how humans act social. I'm going to blow my cover. Someone will notice. Bill is going to kill me.**_

 _ **"Hi handsome."**_

 **Paci-Fire screamed in her face and vaulted over the display of oranges before barrel rolling out the door and out of sight.**

* * *

As they all began the short walk down the drive of the now-McGucket owned mansion, a small short bearded man walked up to them and waved them down. The doctor with the Speedwagon Foundation stepped out in front of all the rest of them to greet the man. " _Fiddleford! Long time-no see! We can't thank you enough for letting us use your helipad to make a landing on such short notice."_

The short hillbilly smiled and let out a friendly laugh. " _Aw, shucks! It's the least I can do for the fellers of the foundation that helped me and Stanford get all those research grants in college! Why don't y'all come right in and get something to eat, and see if there's anything else I can help ya with while yer here!"_ McGucket said, and as he waved goodbye to the pilot and the doctor, he gestured for the group to follow him into the mansion.

 _McGucket led the gang up the marble staircase into his dining room up on the second floor. Everyone was in awe, but was so confused at the cheerful man's seemingly homely appearance, being in contrast to his lavish house. None of them wanted to ask though, Except for Joseph who finally decided to bite the bullet and break the silence._

" _Uh...Fiddlef-*cough cough* Fiddleford is it..? I don't want to be rude but...how are you able to afford this? I know vaguely that you and your roommate in college were sponsored by us with research grants but..I didn't think..?"_ Joseph trailed off.

Pearl and Amethyst mumbled that they were thinking the same thing. McGucket laughed _"Ohooh I understand y'alls confusion but uh...how do I put this delicately for the younger ones?"_ he turned to Joseph, _"I'm sure since ya part of the Foundation you've heard tales of what happened here last summer?"_

" _Vaguely, yeah."_

 _"Well the prominent family who used to own this mansion, was lo longer able to afford it, and eventually they were pressured to leave town because the father, a rich capitalist tried siding with Bill, ya know. Somethin like that. So with some of my recent research project I was able to afford this place. I kinda went bonkers a few decades back with stuff involvin Bill and the whole things that happened, so I had some long-term amnesia, but only recently had my head started coming outta the fog ya know?"_

The group came to a stop in front of large, gilded doors about twice Garnet's height. " _well, here we are!"_ he said cheerfully.

And then McGucket opened the doors.

* * *

 **note: And yeah, I know the grocery store thing was written shitty, but that's just the thing-it's _supposed_ to sound shitty. While Paci-Fire is trapped in a human body, he's not gonna be remembering to act all romantic and eloquent, he's gonna end up acting like a dumbass lmao**


	19. Megalomania

_"Some people don't believe in heroes, but they haven't met my dad."_

 _~Anonymous_

* * *

Everyone stared at the room in awe. None of them had ever seen such a huge, elegant Chandelier. Everyone looked around in utter awe at the room's elegance, pointing out things to each other and discussing the room as they all took their seats. Even the usually stoic Garnet was impressed by the room's decor, and she smiled. The only person who seemed slightly off put by the room was Pearl. She looked up at the chandelier and shuddered. The fake diamonds hanging from the chandelier were _pink._ Joseph saw the uncomfortable look on her face and walked over to her, gently laying a hand on her shoulder, " _Pearlie, are you alright baby?"_

Pearl shook his hand off her shoulder and ignored his loving tone. _"I'm fine."_

* * *

 _*Ding*_

The bell above the door jingled as Paci-Fire made his way into the Walgreen's. Like they would've been if taking on any other human host, his powers, while still present, were incredibly muted. The best he could do when getting wounded while exiting his portal was cauterize it slightly.

Disappointingly, he had no choice but to go through the trouble of procuring some human first-aid materials. As he made his way to the medicine aisle, he quickly looked both ways before stuffing a pack of gauze, two packs of bandages, a pack of pina, and some isopropyl alcohol down his pants, all of which created a lump as big as a small child. As he made his way back down the aisle, he was startled to find an old woman in uniform staring at him.  
Shit.

 _"Why hello young man, is there anything I can help you with?"_

 _Shit uh...what do I say? U,- "No thanks ma'am...just looking!"_ he said with an awkward smile.

 _"Oh alright, please let me know if I can be of any help then!"_ she said with a wave, heading back up front. As soon as she was out of sight he breathed a sigh of relief. As he made his way out the back service entrance, he looked down at his abnormally-stuffed pockets and laughed to himself.

 _"Hah...dumb old bat."_

* * *

T _hey were all in for a long discussion ahead of them. The first hour was spent explaining to Fiddleford what happened to Jotaro, how he seemed possessed by...something, and how that something used to work for Dio. Not forgetting to mention what the...thing did to Steven's gem, they also Told him how Steven and Ruby had overheard the thing saying he was coming to Gravity Falls for some reason. Things in the room without a call from Holly interrupting their conversation, and even as Joseph stepped into the hall, took his phone off speakerphone and tried to reassure her quietly, everyone in the dining room could overhear her tears and screaming, her begging and pleading to her dad to make sure he finds her son alive. Joseph returned to a much more somber room, And everyone was completely silent for what seemed like an eternity until McGucket spoke up once again._

 _"So let me make sure I heard that right- y'all saying that the thing that first possessed Joseph here had red eyes?"_

Joseph nodded. _"Why? What are you getting at?"_

McGucket sighed. _"I really hope I'm wrong but... I think I may have a feeling of who possessed your friend."_

Joseph got even more worried at the look on the hillbilly's face. He glanced at Garnet, hoping to see a glimmer of something in her eyes that would ease his worry, but she looked just as grim as the rest of the group. That was never a good sign for what's to come. Joseph looked back up at McGucket. _"Please for the love of god, tell me this doesn't have to do with what happened last summer."_

Both Steven and Josuke spoke in unison: _"What happened last summer guys?"_

* * *

 _" **DIPPER! DID YOU DRINK MY MABEL JUICE?"**_

 _ **"ARE YOU CRAZY?"**_ he shouted from upstairs. **" _THAT CRAP WOULD GIVE ME A HEART ATTACK_ _!"_ ** The phone started ringing and Dipper groaned as it went on for five minutes and nobody else got up. " _Yeah sure, don't worry about it everyone, I'll get the phone, noooo problem."_ he mumbled to no one in particular as he picked up the phone. _"Hello? Pines residence"_

" _Dipper! Dipper thank god ya answered I need you and Ford...ah to hell with it if you guys are able to I need all four of ya to come over as soon as possible..There might be a ...supernatural problem. And I think the towns in danger!"_

 _"McGucket? Whoa slow down, what kind of danger old man? Hello? Hel-*bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb*_ dial tone. McGucket had hung up before Dipper could ask more. Dipper ran upstairs to where Mabel, Ford and Stan were sitting at a table playing cards, Ford looking slightly bored.

 _"Guys! Guys, we HAVE to go over to McGucket Mansion, the town might be in danger!"_

Mabel and Stan looked at each other strangely, then looked at Ford as he spoke. " _Dipper? I'm sure it's something that can wait a day or two."_ _"But you don't understand! he sounded really panicked! Do you forget that there are probably MUCH more dangers threatening this world besides Bill? The call cut out before I could ask more, but with all the crazy crap that's happened last year, if there's a potential danger, isn't it better we investigate sooner rather than later?" _

Ford stood up. " _Dipper's right. and if anything I believe I do owe it to Fiddleford to hear him out more. towards the end of our projects, before he decided to remove himself from them, I started to be a...a.."_

 _"A total dick?"_ Stan piped in.

 _"Stanley! Children!"_ Mabel and Dipper just rolled their eyes as they all got up to head to the car, faces mixed with worry but also curiosity. _"I just hope it's nothing relating to Bill. I don't think this town is strong enough for another Weirdmageddon."_

Dipper climbed in the backseat and asked Ford, " _But Grunkle Ford, what do you mean? We beat those demons before, and I'm sure we can do it again?"_ Mabel pumped her fists up in the air. _"YEAH, WE KICKED THEIR STUPID DEMON BUTTS!"_

Ford was about to respond when Stanley silenced him with a wave of the hand, and instead answered for him. " _Kids, your Grunkle Ford's not talking about us beating him again, he knows we physically could probably. He means mentally, emotionally. Quite a few people died in Weirdmageddon, and something else happening again might be too much for people to handle before they break."_

 _"Oh."_

Ford started the car, and they pulled away, onto the long road that eventually would bring them to McGucket's doors.

* * *

 _"So, before your friends get here and stuff...I have a question...wh-why wasn't I able to heal Steven's..gem with my stand?"_ Josuke asked. Steven awkwardly patted him on the back, which was made even more awkward by their height difference. But this was so new to him, all of this, he was startled and unaware of how to comfort Josuke in this situation. " _Hey man, don't look so_ _guilty_ _. Remember? I'm fine now, I'm fine.."_

 _"Yeah but, you know what my powers do right? Both you and me...we both have healing powers right? Even though they're different. Do you understand how guilty I feel when I'm not ABLE to save someone, even though theoretically I should be able to?"_ Steven nodded sadly and both Pearl and Joseph reached out for the two boys. _"Yeah, I know how that feels. maybe you didn't...uh...Garnet? A little help?"_

 _"Josuke."_ Garnet looked up at him and phased off her glasses, startling him with her first eye contact. " _What happened was not your fault, you could not heal Steven because gems are simply physically different than stands, and gems can only be healed by gem healing methods, as far as we know."_ Josuke half-smiled. " _Thanks, Garnet...It's just...some people don't believe in heroes, but they haven't met my dad. It's a lot to live up to, the things he's done to help and protect people all over the world."_

 _Steven rubbed his temples, as he was starting to get a migraine. "Ugh. Believe me, I know exactly how you feel. Hey, Josuke?" _  
_"Yeah Steven?"_  
 _"Where's Pearl and Joseph, weren't they just right behind us a second ago?"_

Garnet looked at both of them blankly, but inside Ruby and Sapphire were laughing uproariously. _If only they knew what those two were up to. Well, someone would accidentally walk in on them before long._ _S_ he adjusted her glasses.

* * *

" _Ugh! Grunkle Staaaannn! No offense, but the Stanley-mobile is a piece of crap!"_ She kicked the bumper angrily. Stan didn't get angry, he just laughed. " _Oh sweetheart, if only you were old enough for me to tell you about all the times this car has gotten me out of trouble."_ Ford placed his hands on Mabel and Dipper's shoulders. _"Children! It's no matter! The Northw- the McGucket mansion is only a mile or two away. We can walk!"_ he said with a smile.

Everyone groaned, but started walking.

About halfway the rest of the way there, they came across a hat in the middle of the road, and Mabel picked it up. _"Hey, I wonder who's hat this is? and why does it look torn on the back?"_ She handed it to Dipper who looked concerned. _"Grunkle Ford, do you think someone was attacked out here, look at the back of the hat."_

" _Now, now children, let's not get carried away with anything just yet until we hear what Fiddleford has to say."_ Dipper sighed. _"You're right Grunkle Ford. I just feel on edge from that phone call. What's happening could be a million different things."_

 _"Indeed Dipper, I know. However, until we hear Fiddleford out, let's just not worry so much about this and assume that someone just lost their old hat. We can look back in this area later tonight."_

 _And unbeknownst to them all, Paci-Fire finally had his eyes set on a temporary human host for Bill to enter._

* * *

 _"WENDY! WENDY! WENDY!"_ Everyone cheered as Wendy hiked her way up the telephone pole to get Nate's hat, that blew up there when an unusually strong gust of wind had hit the group. As Wendy grabbed the hat and started slinking back down, She called out to the gang below.

 _"Remind me again why I'm doing this shit for you doofuses?"_

 _"Because you love uuusssssss!"_ The majority of the group called out. Robbie placed his arm around Tambry as they both looked up at Wendy. Things were going all-right. despite the group's disagreements and tumbles, everyone was getting back into a happy routine of spending time with each other just for fun, just like the old days. Out of the woods, next to the train tracks Paci-Fire stepped out of the forest and walked up to where the group was chilling.

 _"Uh..guys?"_ Wendy asked. _"There's a dude behind all of you walking towards us."_ All of them turned to see a brightly-clad young man in a white trench-coat approach them. _"Dude, what do you want?"_

 _"Yeah what's your problem? Why are you bugging us?"_

 _"Psst...hey Tambers...why the fuck does he look like a dude straight out of some anime?"_

 _"Dude that's racist. and DON'T call me Tambers."_

 _"No, it's not!"_

 _"Guys shut up he's just still walking to us.."_

 _"I don't even think he's Japanese dude...hold up. Hey creepy dude, are you Japanese or nah? Helloooo? Are you Japanese AND deaf?"_

Paci-fire stepped into the middle of the group, and looked at all of them. They weren't scared, but they stood there, looking at each other, frozen in confusion. Could this weirdo even hear them?

Suddenly his eyes began to glow red and his lips curled into a sneer. He raised his arms out to his sides and his hands began to burn and crackle. A deeper- than-normal voice came out of the young man's mouth as he finally spoke. " _You children have no use in running. It is time to take back what should've rightfully been ours."_

" _DUDE WHAT THE FUCK?!"_

 _"WHY ARE HIS EYES GLOWING OH MY GOD!"_

 _"DOES ANYBODY SMELL SOMETHING BURNING"_

 _"FUCK THIS I'M GETTING OUT OF HERE!"_ Robbie took off running, Tambry following him. _"ROBBIE, YOU PUSSY! WAIT UP!"_

The teens only got about 25 feet away from him before a piercing whine filled the air and they all dropped to their knees, holding their heads and groaning. Everything hurt; everything was fading fast. Then there was only blackness. Paci-Fire chuckled as he looked down upon all the teens strewn across the rail-yard. _"Too easy..."_ he said to himself. he picked up the redhead lumberjill and with one swift toss, slung her over his shoulder, heading back off into the woods.

* * *

 _"Some people don't believe in heroes, but they haven't met my dad."_

 _~Higashikata Josuke_

* * *

 ** _NOTE: and guys, so I just realized that since t.v. shows list the names of their episodes before they come out alot, especially with the stevenbombs and stuff like that, so let me know if you guys wanna hear the names of the big 4-5 chapter bomb, sometimes it's fun to speculate!_**


	20. Hero in Your Hometown

_"The Edge... There is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over."_

 _~Hunter S. Thompson, Hell's Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga_

* * *

 _"Are you ready?"_ Pearl looked up at Joseph with a sly grin and bit her lip.

 _"Am I ever."_

Pearl, as graceful as ever raised her hands up to her gem, and in one swift movement phased off all of her clothing. She wrapped her arms around Joseph's neck and in one swift movie he lifted up his graceful little Pearl, pulling them both down onto the bed in a heap. Pearl landed on top of Joseph with a yelp and just as he was about to pull her in for a kiss, he noticed her eyes were filled with slight worry.

 _"Joseph...something about this doesn't feel right."_

He opened his mouth to speak but she cut him off- _"and no, it's not because of….Tomoko or because of Suzie I just…."_

 _"Pearl."_

 _"Just...are you sure this is what you really want?"_

 _"Pearl."_

 _"Because you're not going to be around forever and I don't want you to feel you have to-"_

 _"Pearl!"_

Pearl blushed a deep blue and turned to Joseph. _"...Yes?"_

 _"Pearl, I love you, and I'm not going anywhere ever again. I know I'm not going to be around forever, and me and Susie well, we have a mutual understanding that we're pretty much just social companions and stay together to be a solid family at this point. I don't know what's going to happen to me, but I want to spend the rest of the time I have with you."_

Pearl smiled and brushed her gem against his forehead; just the simple touch of their two bodies together was giving her shivers. She glanced up at the hungry look in Joseph's eyes, and pulled him into a deep kiss before letting go and straddling him, pinning him down onto the bed. My turn.

 _"Let's treat every moment like it could be your last with me. I've been waiting for this for what feels like forever"_ , she breathed into his neck.

He nodded, agreeing with her, and pulled the ribbon off across her waist, yanking her top above her head and throwing it aside. He knew she could just phase her clothes away in a nanosecond if she so desired, but undressing her was just that much more satisfying.

 _"I missed you…"_ she moaned. Joseph leaned into her and, shimmying out of his pants in a few awkward movements, he kept both hands on her and pulled her down onto his entire length, and Pearl, her face contorted in a mixture of extreme pleasure and pain, let out a scream. No amount of shape-shifting could stop her from being taken so off guard, and being surprised like that was a thrill she almost forgot she could even experience.

Pearl started grinding against him with an enthusiasm so unlike her, and as Joseph began digging his nails into her back Pearl materialized another right next to him. He was so enraptured with her that he almost didn't even notice as the other Pearl knelt down between Joseph's legs and began to lean forward, tracing her tongue gently around his..

* * *

 _"AaaAAaaaAHhaAhh!"_ a muffled scream could be heard from the upstairs kitchen where Steven and Josuke were raiding the fridge for food.

 _"Hey Josuke what was that?"_

He just shrugged and stuck his head back in the freezer.

 **-15 MINUTES LATER-**

 _"Hey Pearl? Pearl...Mr. Joestar...Dad?"_ Josuke called out, wandering through the halls. _"You guys should come downstairs, the people old man McGucket called are here! Hellooooo?"_

 _"mm..ngg..ahh"_

 _"What the hell?"_ Josuke turned around to see a closed door with bluish light coming out of the bottom. He rolled his eyes. _"Oh dear, i WONDER what ever could be happening behind this closed door!"_ he opened it. _"Dad, you guys need to come downstairs n-nyaahh ugH! WHATTHEFUCKOHMYGODWHYYYIMGOINGDOWNSTAIRSBYE"_ and with that Josuke sprinted back down the staircase, leaving Pearl and Joseph blue and red faced in shock, both of them surrounded by a large amount of Pearl holograms in various positions with three of them holding Joseph up against a wall.

The Pines family were welcomed with open arms into McGucket Mansion. Mabel immediately ran up to Steven and poked the gem n his belly. _"Whoa...your mom let you get a bellybutton piercing?! Once I tried to bedazzle my face but I guess that's different."_

 _"Mabel, don't be rude!"_ Ford called out from the table, where he was discussing options with Fiddleford and Garnet. Steven laughed awkwardly as his gem glowed slightly _"Nooo...haha... this is a part of my body."_

 _"Wait what? how is that possible?"_ Dipper interjected.

 _"We're aliens."_ Garnet said monotone. _"Here,"_ she said, summoning a book from her gem, not being in the mood to explain. _"I can see you are a reader. Why don't you flip through this history book of gem-human interactions. I suppose it's only natural that despite our presence not all children in the future would grow up learning of how we're here. "_

 _"Waaaaaiittt...so you're...an alien?!"_ she asked Steven incredulously.

 _"Mmm actually only half."_

Meanwhile Josuke was scribbling on a napkin at the table, and when he was done he asked McGucket to pass it to Pearl. She opened the napkin and it read in messy handwriting, 'so is that what you always use your clones for lmao' Pearl didn't even glance back up and just flipped off Josuke.

 _"Ahem. Everyone, everyone! May I have your attention please."_ Ford climbed up on the table and McGucket rolled his eyes. 'Feller's always the dramatic ain't he..' _"Now I know almost none of us have had time for proper introductions, and we'll get to that later. But I'm sure most if not all of you are aware of what happened in this town the previous summer right?"_ There were nods and murmurs of agreement in the crowd. _"Okay, alright this is good. From what I've gathered from Joseph and Garnet here, the demon that possessed him was not only a follower of the man you defeated, but also a follower of Bill."_

" _Who's Bill?"_ Steven whispered to the twins. _"We'll tell you later."_

 _"As I was saying, I believe the demon we are both looking to confront is one Paci-Fire . He was one of Bill's minions during the time of Weirdmageddon."_ Josuke raised his finger and was about to say something, but then just sighed and sat back down. He figured whatever that was, it's probably a story to be heard after this. _"And Paci-Fire has possessed your friend Jotaro I presume from what I've heard? That only makes it more imperative that we find him as soon as possible, before he carries out whatever it is he's planning, because he is obviously here for some reason yet known. I've also been informed by the Crystal Gems of your situation with the gem 'Blue Chalcedony' and the newly uncovered stone mask, and the possibility of more. Normally that could potentially be a bigger threat, but since I've been told that the only mask gem you've found so far is already bubbled at the temple, we'll start our sweep for other masks after this is all over. Does anybody at all have any clue as to what exactly Paci-Fire could be planning?"_

Amethyst waved to get his attention. _"Yeah, hey, hi. Ford is it? Don't you think it's possible, I know it's pretty out there after all the crap that's happened to you guys, but what if this red dude is trying to bring Bill ba-_

Suddenly Stan called out to the the group as he descended the stairs from the bathroom. _"Hey uh...almost forgot earlier, anybody lose a shitty retro hat?"_ he held up, for all to see, Jotaro's torn hat.

* * *

 _"Hey uh...almost forgot earlier, anybody lose a shitty retro hat?"_

 _"Oh my god!" "Jotaro..." "What the fuck?!" "Hey old guy, where'd you get that?!"_ everyone began to swarm around Stan at once, their questions running a million miles a minute.

 _"Uhhh...I don't get why you're all freaking out...who's Jotaro? I feel like we arrived here in the middle of the story and missed some important crap or something."_

 ** _"Everyone be quiet."_  
** Despite her voice being monotone and void of emotion 80% of the time, the seriousness in Garnet's tone of voice was always enough to silence a room in less than a second. _"There is a news reporter on television. It appears that a group of teenagers was found unconscious and attacked by the rail-yard, and a man in white was seen fleeing the scene."_

Dipper blanched, and ran towards the t.v. ahead of everyone else. _"The gang said they'd be hanging out there today...oh my god..OH NO WENDY!"_

* * *

 _Baked beans. Green Beans. Split Pea. Corn. Dinty Moore beef stew. Bo sighed. Not much variety for today's meal, he thought._

 _Life's been hard lately, but when he saw an ad on the bottom of the freight car he was in, dated this month, for job openings at some food packaging place near Gravity Falls. he took the initiative and switched freight cars, deciding to go up north and take a chance._

 _Now he just had to figure out where the factory was. He thought he heard footsteps and someone talking, and as he glanced over an overturned freight car, he saw some guy in a white trench-coat sprint into the forest with a girl over his shoulders._

 _Ooookay. he thought. Creepy but, not not his business. not my business. Hmm...factory...factory...maybe if I DO start walking in the direction that guy took I'll come around more people. Oh well, can't hurt._

 _Bo started towards the direction of the 'mysterious man'. The closer he got, the more he was able to see in the distance a body lying on the ground. Some emo kids. Wait. KIDS?! AS IN PLURAL? Shitshitshit. The closer he got now, the more he could see there was not one, not two, but five bodies. Bo immediately turned around in the other direction, back towards the nearest highway and ran screaming._

 _"SOMEBODY! ANYBODY! FUCKING HELP PLEASE THERE'S BODIES, THERE'S PEOPLE!"_

* * *

 ******REPORTER: "...and according to the man who discovered the teens after he was looking for someone to ask directions from, the group of unconscious teens appeared to have been attacked, and not only that, but a man in white was seen fleeing the scene with one of the teens. Sir, what did you see?" BO: "Ya see i was walking along the tracks lookin for someone cause I was lost right? so i see a guy running off into the forest, and he has some redhead girl over his shoulder. I get worried because that's something wrong right there so i try ta follow him but he too fast, so while i was walking in that direction the kids were lying there. Believe me lady, it would've scared you so much the way i saw them. they all had these cut marks on their faces and necks, and blood was coming out their noses and mouths..." REPORTER: "Sir, thank you for your time. The teens are currently in stable condition at Gravity Falls General Hospital, where as soon as they awake the police will attempt to gather more information. I'm Shandra Jimenez, and you all stay safe out there."******

Silence. After listening to that newscast, everyone was too afraid to speak for a few minutes, lest any more sound make what they just heard any more real. Dipper was petrified, and his eyes were brimming with tears. Red hair. Wendy. No.

Someone spoke. _"So, was that 'guy in white' he mentioned Jotaro?"_

Dipper wiped his remaining tears, and stood on a chair to get the taller of the group's attention. _"Everyone...I think it's time we go check on Bill's statue."_

They all arrived at the edge of a small, dirt path, one that eventually led up to the stone carcass of Bill Cipher. The tension in the air was so thick, you could almost cut it with a knife. At this point in time, with so much being unknown until they find out for sure, the only thing they were able to fight back with was as much optimism as they could manage. Mabel tried to lighten up the mood, and was passing out personal sweaters she made for everyone when they were all at the mansion.

Dipper was the first one of the group to reach the statue. Everyone else was taking their sweet time walking up the path, because to be honest, none of them were looking forward to what they might find.

Suddenly, everyone froze. They heard Dipper let out a bloodcurdling scream.

 _"Dipper, we're coming!_ " Ford shouted as everyone took off running towards the sound. What they were about to see would make them all freeze in their tracks, like statues themselves.

Dipper, with a horrified look on his face, backed up slowly until he hit something warm. He tried to scream but felt a hand around his mouth and someone whisper _"Shhh…."_ he was about to bite the hand when he realized it was someone at his height; it was Mabel. Dipper waved his hands around and frantically pointed to the scene in front of him.

"Oh my god!" Joseph yelled. It was Bill's statue, it was broken. And not just broken, but almost hollowed out like a husk, like something was missing. Wendy was on her knees, covered in blood, muttering something incomprehensible. At the sound of Joseph's shout, she turned around, blood dripping out of her nose and mouth, her yellow eyes flashing menacingly.

Yellow eyes?! _**"Well, well….Pine Tree...Shooting Star, Sixer, Fez. To what do I owe the honor of this little meeting?"**_

 _"GET OUT OF OUR FRIEND YOU STUPID UGLY DORITO!"_ Mabel yelled.

Josuke took a step forward. _"Let go your hold of the girl, or I'll make you let go."_

 _"You'll "make" me let go? Oh yeah? How're you gonna do that Elvis? NEWS FLASH. This isn't your FIGHT!"_ and with the last word he raised his hands, then brought them down with a feeling of such pressure, everyone in their group was immediately slammed to the ground: half of them lying unconscious, silt, dirt, and rocks flying everywhere.

 _"Unghhh…."_ Steven groaned. There was some kind of pain in his shoulder, but he used his other arm to force himself up. He glanced behind him, and amidst the dust and dirt flying around them, and everyone lying on the ground, he could see Pearl's and Garnet's forms flickering. He could only make out Amethyst's gem. Steven turned around.

 _"Ahahahahaha-wHAT?! How are YOU still conscious you little twerp?!"_ Bill screamed, eyes turning red, long red hair flying around him. Steven just muttered something sarcastic about being unique. He clenched his fist together and took a step forward.

 _"You hurt my friends."_

Bill rolled his (her?) eyes. _"I'd stay down if I were you kid. This isn't your fight. First and final warning."_

 _"You hurt my family. You poofed my family."_

 _'? Does this kid have a death wish?' "I WARNED YOU ONCE KID, THAT SHOULD'VE BEEN ENOUGH. YOU'RE DEAD!"_ Bill's eyes glowed red and he raised his arms high, blue flame licking at his human's fingertips. _"I MAY NOT BE AS STRONG IN THIS HUMAN HOST, BUT YOU WON'T LIKE ME WHEN I'M MAD!"_ Bill shot a ball of blue flames directly at Steven.

 _"Kid.. NO!"_ Stan choked out. He was the only one of them that just barely managed to open his eyes, just in time to witness The ball of fire hit Steven.

The others were beginning to come out of it. For the first time in his life, since he lost his brother, Stan shed a tear. But then there was a glow. And the boy's voice spoke from the glowing mass of space. "You're not getting rid of me that easy. I gotta protect my family."

Stan forced himself up, along with Ford and Garnet. They all watched in awe as a tall woman materialized behind Steven. She was holding Rose's sword and her shield…just like Steven? Every step Steven took, she mimicked. Garnet called out to her. _"Rose…?"_

But She didn't answer. Bill was confused. He hadn't seen anything like this before. Who was this boy? He tried to summon his fire but all he could manage was a few sparks. His human host was getting weaker, which meant he'd be ready to emerge soon, but right now it just meant he was in deep shit. "Shit…"

Without a word, Steven raised his shield and pushed it in Bill's direction, a movement the Rose behind him mimicked, and a beam of light and air shot towards Bill, propelling him a few feet. Bill started to limp off, and instead of pursuing him further, As soon as he saw he was able to make the demon flee, he dropped his Stand and fell to his knees, exhausted, not even enough energy to turn around behind him to check on his friends. And as Steven sat there, confused and drained, wondering what to make of what just came out of his gem, it started to rain.

* * *

 **"So." Bill said, a freckled smirk toying at his host's lips. "What's all this trash I hear about you needing to get revenge for your fallen lord." Paci-Fire just stood there, staring at him blankly. He didn't answer. "You do know that human would've done anything in his power to banish you, or the REST OF US from this dimension if he'd figure out how right?" Still silence. "Oh yeah, I'M the bad guy. I'M getting the silent treatment. WELL GUESS WHAT. YOU'RE WEAK. YOU'VE ALWAYS BEEN FUCKING WEAK," the redhead's eyes glowed even redder than his, and he spit at him. He pushed Paci-Fire down with a strength above his pitiful human host. "AND GUESS FUCKING WHAT. I DON'T CARE HOW WEAK AND EMOTIONAL SIDING WITH DIO HAS MADE YOU BECOME. SYMPATHY FOR NONE, REVENGE FOR NONE. YOU WILL NOT STRAY FROM OUR. FUCKING. PLAN. JUST TO EXACT REVENGE ON BEHALF OF SOME REPREHENSIBLE, DISGUSTING, HUMAN,** _ **DEMON-WANNABE!**_ **" he kicked Paci-fire in the jaw and heard a groan as he forced himself up. "you make me sick. No matter. You must help me with my plan to bring back Pyronica and the others." Bill said as he looked down at his human's form. Her hands were peeling, and blood was slowly trickling out of her ears and nose. He glanced over at Paci-fire, whose host's eyes were already clouded with cataracts, grey blotches of skin overtaking sections of human skin. He moved slower than he did when he found Bill. "Because it's almost time for us to emerge. Our incubations are almost complete."**

 **"Yes master."**


	21. A Surprise Guest

_"Older men declare war. But it is the youth that must fight and die."_

 _~Herbert Hoover_

* * *

 _"Bill, remind me why we're doing this again?"_

 _"Because, you insufferable idiot. Soon we'll have our physical forms again, and while that does mean we'll be stronger, as much as I hate to admit it, we won't be unstoppable, not yet."_

*click* Bill slapped the sticky bomb in place and shoved it inside a fully dressed mannequin. _"Do you have the paint?"_

 _"Yeah boss, but why didn't we just get blood?"_

 _"You fucking idiot, why would we waste precious time slashing open a random bystander when we can just buy red paint and lure someone faster? Besides, it's only supposed to look realistic from a distance. And it's raining. By the time they're close enough to be able to notice it's fake they'll be fucked anyway. Hand me that knife…"_ Bill cursed under his breath, clearly irritated with his host's hair as he was shaking his hair out of his face. _"This bitch's hair keeps messing up my concentration. I can barely see with this rat's nest in the rain right now."_

 _***slice***_

And Wendy's hair fell to the ground.

 _"Boss, where should I put this body?"_ Paci-Fire asked, huffing as he lifted it over his shoulder. _"Christ you weren't kidding man...I feel so drained that I feel like I'm disintegrating."_

 _"Yeah, that's a normal part of this process. Over there, on the edge of the road. Make sure it's noticeable from a hundred feet down."_

* * *

 _"LET IT GOOOOOOOO, LET IT GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"_ she screamed from the backseat of her mom's Ford Taurus.

 _"Ugh…."_ Nancy groaned from the driver's seat. She slowed down and came to a stop before opening up her glove compartment and popping an aspirin.

 _"MOMMY I'M HUNGRY!"_

She took a deep breath. _"I already GAVE you a big lunch HALF AN HOUR AGO!"_ Her daughter shrank back and squinted her eyes at her. _"Well it was gross mommy."_ Nancy just turned back to her daughter before starting the car and said through clenched teeth _, "Well sweetheart. If you're that hungry, you'll eat the rest."_

Five minutes later they came upon a body in the middle of the road. Or at least, she assumed it was a body. Her daughter screamed, and Nancy told her to cover her eyes, and that she was going to go help them. _"While I'm out of the car, DON'T open the door for anyone. OKay?"_

 _"I won't talk to strangers mommy…"_

 _"Good."_ Nancy kissed her daughter's forehead and walked the the body that was only a few feet away. It was beginning to rain harder now, so she took off her coat and lifted it above her head.

 _"Oh my god….."_ she knelt down and placed her two fingers on his neck.

 _"Nothing… wait...what the fuck….this is a mannequ-_

And before she could finish her sentence, a powerful explosion rocked the highway down the street. As soon as the dust settled, Bill and Paci-Fire made their way towards the Taurus. They didn't even bother to glance at the mangled remains of the woman splattered across the roadway, already knowing full well that she was as good as dead. They couldn't waste any more time.

The closer they got to the car, the more they heard the screams of her little one coming from the backseat.

 _"MOMMYY!"_ the girl was screaming, desperately trying to unlock her seat-belt, but her shock and grief drawing a blank on how to do it. She screamed harder when Wendy's face appeared in the front seat of the car, her arms reaching out to unbuckle her. _"LET ME GO! MOMMY!"_ she continued to scream.

 _"Hey. HEY. HEY! Don't kick me you little twerp!"_ Bill shouted, deciding to hold her in a fireman's carry to free up his right hand. _"Paci-Fire. We need to find a space to draw out the ritual. Let's go."_ And as they walked back into the forest, the girl surprised even herself by crying and screaming herself out in a matter of minutes. Eventually, her poor little brain just gave out from shock and she passed out.

When the child woke, she was laying in the middle of a glowing blue circle of fire.  
Fire was bad. She remembered her mom explaining to her after she accidentally burned her foot one time in the campfire. Ashley looked down at her feet. She could still see the scar.

 _ **"** **Lord Xolotl, by your grace, grant me, I pray thee the power to conceive in my mind and to execute that which I desire to do, the end which I would attain by thy help, O Mighty Xolotl, the one True God who livest and reignest forever and ever.** **"**_

Ashley remembered what she saw. A loud sound. A crash. Her mommy. Blood. Lots of blood. So much red. She began to cry.

 _ **"** ** **I** entreat thee to inspire Pyronica to manifest before me that she may give me true and faithful service, so that I may accomplish my desired end, provided that it is proper to her office. This I respectfully and humbly ask in Your Name, my Xolotl, may you deem me worth** **y. "**_

Ashley's body began to surround itself with pink flames. They rolled up her legs effortlessly, not even burning her skin, but where the flames licked her body, human skin fell away to reveal bright pink skin.

 _"Well…."_ Bill said, smirking. _"This is unexpected. Good, but unexpected."_

Ashley opened her mouth to scream, but no sound would come out as soon even her head was enveloped in a cocoon of slow pink flames.

Paci-Fire turned to Bill with a look of confusion. _"What's unexpected Boss?"_

 _"Her body is bonding with Pyronica's mind….more than our hosts did. It appears we unintentionally chose a human soul strong enough to not be weared down by Pyronica's mind. Oh yes….this will be a great asset to us later."_ Bill said, staring together at the writhing ball of pink flames with his assistant.

 _"YOU'RE SICK. YOU MONSTERS! WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO THAT FUCKING KID?!"_ Jotaro screamed, but it was no use. Nobody even acknowledged him still. He looked down at his disembodied form and wondered hopelessly if anyone would be able to see him.

He was so absorbed in self-loathing over how stupid he was, believe Kakyoin was real in that one moment in the forest, that he didn't even notice Paci-Fire turn and walk up to him.

 _"Hey. You. Yes, you floating there."_

Jotaro looked up in anger. _"You SON OF A BITCH, you could see me this WHOLE TIME?!"_

 _"Yep. And I'm gonna cut right to the chase. Give up. It's Hopeless; you're never going to stop us, blah blah blah. Guess what? You're going to be trapped in the mindscape until the demise of your body, at which point we'll be able to call back your soul for service or decide how to dispose of it." "Or hey,"_ Bill chimed in with a laugh, _"Maybe we'll just let you stick around for the hell of it so you won't be able to look away as we kill your entire family!"_

* * *

Something strange was happening in the burning room. Something strange, indeed. The bubble holding Chalcedony's gem was pulsating. Slowly, almost like a heartbeat. And as a gently ray of light from another temple room cascaded across it, the bubble pulsated faster. Faster and faster. It kept pulsing. Now it was sizzling and suddenly in the blink of an eye...

*pop*

Chalcedony's chest gem clattered to the floor and began to vibrate with life. First her torso formed, then long, graceful legs, then two halves of a star cutout on each side of her gem, long, graceful arms that ended in...claws? She had claws. As her face started to form again, and her mind was unclouded for the first time in millennia, she let out a hearty laugh. _"Haha! Finally...it finally worked...I'm back."_ She was about to put her hand to her cheek when she felt the brush of something sharp, so she looked at her hands. "Why do I have claws...wait...shit." Chalcedony ran to a shale wall where she could see her reflection, and to her utter disgust, her gem was a dimmer shade of blue, the whites of her eyes were the deepest black, and that...that mask was still stuck to the top of her head, almost like a helmet.

 _"FUCK!"_ She started yanking on it _. "WHY. DIDN'T. IT. WORK. OW OW OW."_ she yelped in pain and stopped yanking.

She looked again at her reflection in the mirror, her eyes drawn to her failed plan atop her head. _"Ugh. so much for the evolution of man. And to think I was like a god them...those...gods. I was a god to gods. Well if they were so fucking smarter than humans why couldn't they get this shit right."_ Chalcedony closed her eyes and touched her hand to the forehead of the mask, concentrating, trying to sense the life forces of any of the men of the pillars.

Nothing.

 _"Ugh. I swear to fucking god, they're all dead already? SO much for superior beings. Pathetic. I can't believe I ever thought their magic could be the salvation of me. Ugh, if I knew how to bring them back I swear I'd kill them all all over again just for the hell of it. I wonder what year it is?"_ Chalcedony looked around the room, her arm sizzling when it hit that ray of light, making her recoil in pain. Her expression grew more and more agitate and when her eyes came across the tons of bubbled gems above her head, she hissed in disgust, revealing entirely pointed teeth. " _I'm with...them...those disgraces. Those abominations. No. I must think of a plan."_ she glanced around the room looking for something useful, until her eyes fell upon a bubbled orange gem, multi-faceted, in the shape of a small diamond.

 _"Ahah!"_ she chuckled evilly. _"I'm surprised the 'kindergarten quartz that could' was finally done in by the things she was most disgusted by. Oh well. You will be of use to me. Now...all I have to do is bide my time...until nightfall."_

* * *

Everyone was pretty chatty on the way to the hospital except for Dipper. He knew everyone was trying so hard to be optimistic right now but he just couldn't join them. Hell, he wished he could. At this point with them being taken off guard by everything at turn after turn, optimism was one of the only weapons they had at the moment.

The hospital was quiet. Nobody even stopped to question their large group as they made their way through the hospital, which was probably in part because Some of the higher staff at the hospital knew full well who Joseph Joestar was, having collaborated with the Speedwagon Foundation for cleanup and medical and psychological treatments there, after Weirdmageddon.

Sheriff Blubs and Deputy Durland were standing outside the room waiting patiently, talking with some of the doctors. He recognized the Pines Family in the group and made his way over to them with a hard look on his face. _"I'm sorry but you all made your way over here a bit too soon. They're due to wake any minute now just waiting. The cafe is normally closed on Sundays here, but since under the circumstances, from what I've heard at least, how important it is you need to speak with those kids, the cafe employees have opened it up for just our small group so we have somewhere better to wait than just this hallway. I'll show y'all down there so we can wait."_ So Sheriff Blubs and Deputy Durland led them downstairs to the hospital's partner cafe.

And now they waited for the teens to wake up.

* * *

McGucket hummed and sang quietly to himself as he finished the dishes from his earlier breakfast with the one manotaur that always stops by. _"Hmm hmmphmm hmm and my banjo was from lady sarah…"_ he sang quietly to himself.

Suddenly he heard a great deal of commotion outside, so he peeked out the small kitchen window. Another Speedwagon plane was landing?

 _"What in the world…"_

McGucket ran outside to see who could possibly have business so urgent they had to time to inform him of their arrival. He walked up to the plane, holdingdown his has so it didn't fly off, and called out in the direction of the door. _"Y'know, y'all could at least start giving me warnings before ya keep landing in my backyard and scare the bejeesus outta me?!"_

McGucket looked up when he heard a woman's voice answer back. _"I'm sorry...I thought they told you of my arrival…"_

 _"Oh! I don't believe we've ever met miss…?_

 _'Holly. Joseph is my papa."_

 _"Well Miss Holly, what could bring you all the way to our rinky-dink little town?"_ he asked, raising his eyebrow. _Clearly her father doesn't know she's here, or was coming, otherwise he would've said something right?_

 _"I'm worried about my son. The last I heard he was in the company of my Papa but I haven't heard anything from Jotaro in about a week...nobody's saying anything. I need to make sure my son is okay."_


	22. AUTHOR'S NOTICE

_**Hey all. I know for the past year people have noticed I haven't updated any of my stories. and that even so, people were still interested in stories progressing because even a year later I still get notifications of messages, subscriptions and favorites.**_

 _ **Writing is my passion and these stories were my babies, they still are. However around December of 2016 my depression worsened, draining the will of pretty much anything from me. Next week, I want to try and continue all of these again.**_

 _ **Now the favor I need to ask you guys is simple. Whether or not you're one of my first subscribers, or you just discovered it recently and are still wanting to see more, leave a comment on this chapter update or shoot me a message letting me know so! :)**_


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